Modular sensing systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A modular approach is provided for sensing and responding to detected activity or an event in a region that can be implemented quickly and easily using existing city infrastructure to establish a grid of sensors and detectors to provide localized or wide area coverage. The approach provides a turnkey solution or smart city in a box that can be adapted to different situations and needs to provide communications functionality and/or a desired or customized functionality for a wide range of different applications.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/702,305, filed Dec. 3, 2019, which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/489,526,filed Apr. 17, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,529,221, issued on Jan. 7,2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/405,080, filed Oct. 6, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No.62/385,181, filed Sep. 8, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No.62/365,323, filed Jul. 21, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No.62/360,335, filed Jul. 9, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No.62/331,672, filed May 4, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No.62/324,673, filed Apr. 19, 2016, which applications are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The notion of a smart city is not a new one. We have envisioned smartdevices communicating to each other, autonomous vehicles driving peoplearound or making deliveries, traffic lights being controlled to optimizetraffic flow, construction monitoring, street lights being managed forefficient energy use, threats to security in high risk areas beingdetected and alerts being raised to the appropriate authorities. Theseare among the many applications we might expect to see in a smart city.We might also expect to be able to measure and monitor the impact ofenvironmental and other factors on various systems, to be able toprovide communications to outside entities or to communications devices,and to intelligently coordinate responses from different systemsthroughout a smart city.

Technological developments have spurred and continue to driveimprovements in what we are able to detect and monitor in ourenvironment and in how we are able to collect, evaluate, and extract keyinformation from vast volumes of different types of data we never hadaccess to before. In addition, the sheer amount and breadth of dataavailable continues to increase with advances in our ability to senseand process data-generating events. The challenge lies in how to fullyutilize the various sensors, smart devices, and generated data toprovide meaningful applications that enable the functionalities we havecome to expect in a smart city.

While advances have been made to enable certain functionalities, forexample, in managing light system energy use as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos.8,502,456, 8,716,942, and 8,963,433 to Jarrell et. al., in monitoringpipeline integrity as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 8,903,558 to Jarrell etal., and in unmanned aerial vehicle communication, monitoring, andtraffic management as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,087,451, 9,466,218, and9,576,493 to Jarrell, which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties, there is still room for improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the disclosure provides a modular system for sensing andresponding to detected activity or an event in a region. The system caninclude a base station configured to provide communicationsfunctionality, and an application module configured to provide a desiredfunctionality for a particular application. In some instances, theapplication module can be configured to be coupled or releasably coupledto the base station.

In some embodiments, the base station can be configured to be coupled orreleasably coupled to a support member. Depending on the application, aslittle as 1 to 4 base stations and/or application modules may bedeployed to provide a particular functionality. A deployment may bescaled to include hundreds, thousands, or tens-of thousands of basestations and/or application modules that can be coupled to hundreds,thousands, or tens-of thousands of support members across a citydepending on the size of the city, its population density, and thedesired functionality. For example, the number of base stations coupledor releasably coupled to support members can be less than 3, 4, 5, 10,15, 20, 25, 50, or 100 or alternatively, can be at least 100, 200, 300,400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 or preferably at least 1000. A smallconstruction site may be serviced with a deployment of only 1 to 4 basestations, and a small town may be serviced using 5 to 25 base stations.In contrast, a larger city may preferably include several hundred orseveral thousand base stations. The number of base stations coupled orreleasably coupled to support members can be less than 3, 4, 5, 10, 15,20, 25, 50, or 100 or alternatively, can be at least 500, 1000, 1500,2000, 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500, 7000, 7500,8000, 8500, 9000, 9500, 10,000, 10,500, 11,000, 11,500, 12,000, 12,500,13,000, 13,500, 14,000, 14,500, or 15,000 per square mile. Depending onthe application, the number of base stations coupled or releasablycoupled to support members can be within a range of 1 to 10, 1 to 20, 1to 50, 10 to 100, 100 to 1000, 1000 to 2000, or can scale to over 2000deployed over an area within a range of 10 to 100 square feet, 100 to 1Ksquare feet, 1K to 10K square feet, 10K to 100K square feet, 100K to 1Msquare feet, 1M to 20M square feet, 20M square feet to 1 square mile, 1square mile to 10 square miles, 10 square miles to 50 square miles, orover 50 square miles.

The base station can be configured to be installed and fully operationalto provide communications functionality within a range of 10 seconds to5 minutes. In some embodiments, the application module can be configuredto be coupled or releasably coupled to a support member. The applicationmodule can be configured to be coupled to the base station and fullyoperational to provide the desired functionality within a range of 10seconds to 5 minutes. The base station or components of the base stationcan be powered by energy provided by the support member or by acomponent of the support member. The base station can include a datachannel configured to transfer data between the base station and thesupport member or a component of the support member. In some instances,the support member can be a streetlight assembly. The base station canbe powered by a battery, by light energy, by wind energy, byhydroelectric energy, or by an alternate power source located in avehicle or a building. In other instances, the support member can be avehicle or a building.

In some embodiments, the base station can use a first energy signal froma streetlight assembly to produce one or more voltage signals to powercomponents of the base station. A power module of the application modulecan use the first energy signal to produce one or more output energysignals. The application module can use the one or more output energysignals to power components of the application module. In someembodiments, the base station can include an electrical plug orreceptacle configured to mate with an electrical plug or receptacle ofthe application module. The base station can pass a first energy signalfrom a streetlight assembly on to the electrical plug or receptacle ofthe base station. The base station can be configured to providestreetlight control functionality. Communications functionality caninclude wireless communication with another base station, a controlcenter, or a wireless communication device.

In some embodiments, the base station can include a communicationsmodule configured to communicate wirelessly with another base station, acontrol center, or with a wireless communication device and a processingmodule including a processor configured to execute an instruction toperform a desired task. The communications module can include acommunications security module configured to provide securecommunications between the base station and the application module, orbetween the base station and an entity with which the base station iscommunicating. The entity can be a second base station, a secondapplication module, an application module that is not attached to thebase station, a remote application module, a control center, an unmannedaerial vehicle, a driverless ground-based vehicle, or a communicationsdevice. The instruction can include an instruction to adjust anintensity of a luminaire of a streetlight. The processing module can beconfigured to execute instructions to collect, aggregate, or evaluatedata generated by the activity or event. The collection, aggregation, orevaluation of data can be performed using artificial intelligence,machine learning, or data mining techniques. Specific techniques toemploy facial recognition and other pattern recognition may also beused. In other examples, the data or portions of the data collected,aggregated, or evaluated by the modular system and method can bedisaggregated and provided or sold to entities interested or who couldmake use of such data.

In some embodiments, the base station can include a power moduleconfigured to take a first energy signal as input and produce one ormore output energy signals. The power module can include a chargingcomponent configured to charge a battery of the base station. The basestation can include a GPS component. In some embodiments, the basestation can include a data store configured to store information forperforming a functionality of the base station or information forperforming a functionality of the application module. The data store canbe configured to store a precise location identifier of the base stationor of a portion of the base station. The data store can be configured tostore a precise location identifier for a point of interest. The pointof interest can be selected from the group consisting of a location of asupport member to which the base station is attached, a locationassociated with a road in a vicinity of the base station, and anairborne location in a vicinity of the base station.

In some embodiments, the base station can include a measurementcomponent. The measurement component can include a plurality ofmeasurement components. The measurement component can be configured tomeasure energy, temperature, or ambient light. In some embodiments, thebase station can include a detection component. The detection componentcan include a plurality of detection components. The detection componentcan be configured to detect motion in a vicinity of the base station,sound in a vicinity of the base station, a communications signal, or apresence of a nearby vehicle, nearby human, or nearby communicationsdevice. The detection component can include a microphone, a camera, aradar component, or a lidar component. The detection component can beconfigured to detect a removal attempt of the base station from asupport member to which the base station is coupled.

In some embodiments, the application module can include a plurality ofapplication modules. Each one of the plurality of application modulescan be configured to provide a different functionality than each of theother of the plurality of application modules. Each one of the pluralityof application modules can be configured to couple with the base stationor with a different one of the plurality of application modules to forma modular assembly. Each one of the plurality of application modules canhave a cylindrical shape or another shape configured to suit aparticular need or purpose.

In some embodiments, the base station and the application module can beconfigured to couple together to form a modular assembly. Theapplication module can include a plurality of application modules. Insome instances, each of the plurality of application modules can beconfigured to couple together with the base station or with each of theother of the plurality of application modules. A connection between thebase station and the application module or between application modulescan be configured so as to prevent an attachment of an unapprovedapplication module to the base station or to other application modules.The modular assembly can include a dome-shaped top including anapplication module, a camera unit, or a hollow unit. The modularassembly can be configured to have a shape for limiting or preventingwind resistance, wind-induced forced resonance, or aeroelastic flutteron the assembly.

Hundreds, thousands, or tens-of thousands of modular assemblies can becoupled to hundreds, thousands, or tens-of thousands of support membersacross a city depending on the size of the city and its populationdensity. For example, the number of modular assemblies coupled orreleasably coupled to support members can be less than 3, 4, 5, 10, 15,20, 25, 50, or 100 or alternatively, can be at least 100, 200, 300, 400,500, 600, 700, 800, 900 or preferably at least 1000. A smallconstruction site may be serviced with a deployment of only 1 to 4modular assemblies, and a small town may be serviced using 5 to 25modular assemblies. In contrast, a larger city may preferably includeseveral hundred or several thousand modular assemblies. The number ofmodular assemblies coupled or releasably coupled to support members canbe less than 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, or 100 or alternatively, canbe at least 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500, 5000,5500, 6000, 6500, 7000, 7500, 8000, 8500, 9000, 9500, 10,000, 10,500,11,000, 11,500, 12,000, 12,500, 13,000, 13,500, 14,000, 14,500, or15,000 per square mile. Depending on the application, the number ofmodular assemblies coupled or releasably coupled to support members canbe within a range of 1 to 10, 1 to 20, 1 to 50, 10 to 100, 100 to 1000,1000 to 2000, or can scale to over 2000 deployed over an area within arange of 10 to 100 square feet, 100 to 1K square feet, 1K to 10K squarefeet, 10K to 100K square feet, 100K to 1M square feet, 1M to 20M squarefeet, 20M square feet to 1 square mile, 1 square mile to 10 squaremiles, 10 square miles to 50 square miles, or over 50 square miles.

In some embodiments, the system can further include a camera unit. Thecamera unit can be integrated with the base station. The camera unit canbe separate from the base station. The camera unit can be configured tobe coupled with the base station or with the application module. In someinstances, the system can further include an inert module. The inertmodule can be configured to provide protection against ultravioletradiation, dust, particulates, bird droppings, or other undesirableelements to the base station, the application module, or the cameraunit.

In some embodiments, the application module can include a communicationsmodule configured to communicate with an entity. The communicationsmodule can include a communications security module configured toprovide secure communications between the application module and anentity with which the application module is communicating. Thecommunications module can include an antenna configured to wirelesslycommunicate with the base station or with another entity. The entity canbe selected from the group consisting of a driverless vehicle, a basestation remote from the application module, a control center, and acommunications device. The communications module can be configured touse modes or protocols selected from the group consisting of GSM voicecalls, a messaging protocols, CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, GPRS, 4Gprotocols, and 5G protocols. The communications module can be configuredto communicate through a transceiver. The transceiver can be selectedfrom the group consisting of a radio-frequency transceiver, ashort-range communication transceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, and aWi-Fi transceiver. The communications module can be configured tocommunicate messages using a network or communication link. The networkor communication link can be selected from the group consisting of acellular network, a phone-based network, a remote control radiofrequency link, a UHF link, an L-band frequency link, a microwavefrequency link, an Internet, a cloud, a network configured to provideaccess to the Internet or the cloud, a mesh network, a local-areanetwork, a wide-area network, a microwave network, a radio frequencynetwork, a datalink, a public network, and a private network.

In some embodiments, the application module can include a processingmodule including a processor configured to execute instructions toperform desired tasks. The processing module can be configured toexecute instructions to collect, aggregate, or evaluate data generatedby the activity or event. The collection, aggregation, or evaluation ofdata can be performed using artificial intelligence, machine learning,or data mining techniques. Specific techniques to employ facialrecognition and other pattern recognition may also be used. In someembodiments, the application module can be configured to work with thebase station or to work independently from the base station to performtasks and to wirelessly communicate a message to a remote entity. Theremote entity can be selected from the group consisting of a controlcenter, a municipal authority, a police department, a fire department, afirst responder, an individual patrol officer, a private security guard,a third party alarm company, a private security organization, a vehicle,a base station, another application module, and a communications device.In some embodiments, the application module can include a firstelectrical plug or receptacle configured to mate with an electrical plugor receptacle of the base station. The application module can include asecond electrical plug or receptacle configured to mate with anelectrical plug or receptacle of a second application module to provideelectrical energy to the second application module.

In some embodiments, the desired functionality can be selected from thegroup consisting of: unmanned aerial vehicle communication ormanagement; autonomous ground vehicle communication or management;threat detection or alerting to detected threats; imaging or monitoringfeatures; weather sensing or weather alerts; environmental sensing orenvironmental alerts; traffic monitoring or traffic alerts; activitysensing or activity alerts; disturbance sensing or disturbance alerts;weapon sensing or alerting to detected weapons; terror sensing oralerting to detected activity indicating possible terror attacks;earthquake movement sensing or earthquake alerts; smoke and fire sensingor smoke and fire alerts; civil unrest and riot detection or alerting tocivil unrest and riots; natural disaster sensing or alerting to detectednatural disasters; accident sensing or accident alerts; othercommunications; roadway construction monitoring; building or structureconstruction monitoring; impaired driver monitoring or impaired driveralerts; intersection violation monitoring or intersection violationalerts; shot identification or suspect tracking; communicationsrepeater; wireless internet provision; vehicle information logging;parking monitoring; pollution monitoring; alerts to or from thirdparties or to or from government agencies.

In some embodiments, the application module can include an applicationspecific module including a component or module configured to providespecific functionality for a given application. The application specificmodule can be selected from the group consisting of: an unmanned aerialvehicle communication module, an unmanned aerial vehicle managementmodule, a ground vehicle communication module, a ground vehiclemanagement module, a threat detection or threat alert module, an imagingmodule, a monitoring module, a weather sensing module, a weather alertmodule, an environmental sensing module, an environmental alert module,a traffic monitoring module, a traffic alert module, an activity sensingmodule, an activity alert module, a disturbance sensing module, adisturbance alert module, a weapon sensing module, a weapon alertmodule, a terror sensing module, a terror alert module, an earthquakemovement sensing module, an earthquake movement alert module, a smoke orfire sensing module, a smoke or fire alert module, a civil unrest orriot detection module, a civil unrest or riot alert module, a naturaldisaster sensing module, a natural disaster alert module, an accidentsensing module, an accident sensing alert module, a communicationsmodule, a roadway construction monitoring module, a building orstructure construction monitoring module, an impaired driver monitoringmodule, an impaired driving alert module, an intersection violationmonitoring module, an intersection violation alert module, a shotidentification or suspect monitoring module, a shot identification orsuspect alert module, a communications repeater module, a wirelessinternet provision module, a vehicle information logging module, aparking monitor module, an on-request monitoring module, an unmannedaerial vehicle recharge module, a military or port security module, apipeline integrity module, an air pollution module, an unmanned aerialvehicle detection or security module, and a third party or governmentagency alert module.

In some embodiments, the application specific module can include asensor or detection component configured to perform an associatedfunctionality for the application specific module. The sensor ordetection component can be selected from the group consisting of acamera, a photo cell, a microphone, an activity sensor, a motion sensor,a sound meter, an acoustic sensor, an optical sensor, an ambient lightsensor, an infrared sensor, a gas sensor, a gas detector, a particlesensor, a gas particle sensor, an airborne particulate sensor, a smokesensor, a fire sensor, an environmental sensor, a weather sensor, atemperature sensor, a thermometer, a pressure sensor, a wind sensor, arainfall sensor, a dew point sensor, a seismic sensor, a radar detector,a lidar detector, a navigation beacon, a global positioning system (GPS)sensor, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a pullbox, a communicationsreceiver, a cellphone, a wireless router, and a communications sensorconfigured to detect a transmission.

In some embodiments, the associated functionality can be selected fromthe group consisting of: unmanned aerial vehicle communication ormanagement; autonomous ground vehicle communication or management;threat detection or alerting to detected threats; imaging or monitoringfeatures; weather sensing or weather alerts; environmental sensing orenvironmental alerts; traffic monitoring or traffic alerts; activitysensing or activity alerts; disturbance sensing or disturbance alerts;weapon sensing or alerting to detected weapons; terror sensing oralerting to detected activity indicating possible terror attacks;earthquake movement sensing or earthquake alerts; smoke and fire sensingor smoke and fire alerts; civil unrest and riot detection or alerting tocivil unrest and riots; natural disaster sensing or alerting to detectednatural disasters; accident sensing or accident alerts; othercommunications; roadway construction monitoring; building or structureconstruction monitoring; impaired driver monitoring or impaired driveralerts; intersection violation monitoring or intersection violationalerts; shot identification or suspect tracking; communicationsrepeater; wireless internet provision; vehicle information logging;parking monitoring; and pollution monitoring. The application specificmodule can be configured to sense, detect, or respond to an event.

In some embodiments, the event the application module can be configuredto sense, detect, or respond to depends on a particular purpose orfunctionality of the application specific module. The applicationspecific module can be configured to produce an output in response tothe sensed event. The event can be wholly or partially detected by asensor or detection component of the application specific module. Thetype of sensor or detection component can depend on the particularpurpose or functionality of the application specific module. The sensorcan be configured to register a measurement that is passed to a sensorhub. The sensor hub can be configured to communicate a result of themeasurement to the base station via a communications channel. The sensorhub can be powered by the base station.

Aspects of the disclosure provide a system for utilizing supportstructures throughout a city to provide wireless communicationfunctionality. The system can include a streetlight, a utility pole, abuilding, a vehicle or other support structure that includes a wirelessor WiFi router. The system can also include a plurality of basestations. At least one of the plurality of base stations can beconfigured to provide communications functionality and to be coupled tothe streetlight, utility pole, or other support structure. The systemcan also include a plurality of streetlights, utility poles or othersupport structures, at least one of the plurality of streetlights,utility poles or other support structures including a receptacleconfigured to couple with the at least one of the plurality of basestations. An application module configured to provide a desiredfunctionality for a particular application can also be included in thesystem. The application module can be configured to be coupled to atleast one of the plurality of base stations.

In some examples, each one or at least one of the plurality of basestations can be configured to communicate wirelessly with a remotecontrol center, a communications device, or with each of the other basestations in the plurality of base stations. Each one or at least one ofthe plurality of base stations can be configured to be easily insertedinto an existing receptacle or socket of at least one of the pluralityof support structures. Each one or at least one of the plurality of basestations can be configured to provide a stable and lockable attachmentlocation for one or more application modules. The application module canbe configured to be upgradeable, easily interchanged, or removed withoutdisrupting a functionality of the base station.

Aspects of the disclosure also provide a system for utilizing supportstructures throughout a city to provide a widespread grid of sensing ordetecting devices for local or wide area coverage of a region. Thesystem can include a plurality of base stations, each one or at leastone of the plurality of base stations being configured to providecommunications functionality. Each one or at least one of the pluralityof base stations can configured to be coupled or releasably coupled to asupport structure. The system can further include a plurality of supportstructures, each one or at least one of the plurality of supportstructures including a receptacle configured to couple with each one orat least one of the plurality of base stations, and an applicationmodule or a plurality of application modules each configured to providea desired functionality for a particular application, where theapplication module or plurality of applications modules can each beconfigured to be coupled or releasably coupled to each one or at leastone of the plurality of base stations.

In some embodiments, each one or at least one of the plurality ofsupport structures can be a streetlight. The plurality of base stationscan be configured to provide a network for wireless control ofstreetlights. Each one or at least one of the plurality of base stationscan be configured to communicate wirelessly with a remote controlcenter, a communications device, or with each of the other base stationsin the plurality of base stations. Each one or at least one of theplurality of base stations can be configured to be easily inserted intoan existing receptacle or socket of at least one of the plurality ofsupport structures. Each one or at least one of the plurality of basestations can be configured to provide a stable and lockable attachmentlocation for one or more application modules. The application module canbe configured to be upgradeable, easily interchanged, or removed withoutdisrupting a functionality of the base station.

Aspects of the disclosure also provide a method for sensing, detecting,and responding to an event or an activity in a region. The method caninclude providing a base station configured to provide communicationsfunctionality; providing an application module configured to provide adesired functionality for a particular application in response to asensed event or a detected activity; releasably coupling the basestation to a support member; releasably coupling the application moduleto the base station; sensing, by the base station or the applicationmodule, an event in a region in a vicinity of the base station or theapplication module; collecting data generated by or related to thesensed event; aggregating the collected data; evaluating the aggregateddata; and generating a response to the sensed event based on theevaluation of the aggregated data.

In some embodiments, the method can include applying artificialintelligence, machine learning, or data mining techniques to perform oneof the steps selected from the group consisting of: collecting datagenerated by or related to the sensed event, aggregating the collecteddata, and evaluating the aggregated data. Specific techniques to employfacial recognition and other pattern recognition may also be used.

In some embodiments, the application specific module can be selectedfrom the group consisting of: an unmanned aerial vehicle communicationmodule, an unmanned aerial vehicle management module, a ground vehiclecommunication module, a ground vehicle management module, a threatdetection or threat alert module, an imaging module, a monitoringmodule, a weather sensing module, a weather alert module, anenvironmental sensing module, an environmental alert module, a trafficmonitoring module, a traffic alert module, an activity sensing module,an activity alert module, a disturbance sensing module, a disturbancealert module, a weapon sensing module, a weapon alert module, a terrorsensing module, a terror alert module, an earthquake movement sensingmodule, an earthquake movement alert module, a smoke or fire sensingmodule, a smoke or fire alert module, a civil unrest or riot detectionmodule, a civil unrest or riot alert module, a natural disaster sensingmodule, a natural disaster alert module, an accident sensing module, anaccident sensing alert module, a communications module, a roadwayconstruction monitoring module, a building or structure constructionmonitoring module, an impaired driver monitoring module, an impaireddriving alert module, an intersection violation monitoring module, anintersection violation alert module, a shot identification or suspectmonitoring module, a shot identification or suspect alert module, acommunications repeater module, a wireless internet provision module, avehicle information logging module, a parking monitor module, anon-request monitoring module, an unmanned aerial vehicle rechargemodule, a military or port security module, a pipeline integrity module,an air pollution module, and an unmanned aerial vehicle detection orsecurity module.

In some embodiments, the application module can include a sensor ordetection component configured to perform the desired functionality forthe application module and to sense the event in the region in thevicinity of the application module. The sensor or detection componentcan be selected from the group consisting of a camera, a photo cell, amicrophone, an activity sensor, a motion sensor, a sound meter, anacoustic sensor, an optical sensor, an ambient light sensor, an infraredsensor, a gas sensor, a gas detector, a particle sensor, a gas particlesensor, an airborne particulate sensor, a smoke sensor, a fire sensor,an environmental sensor, a weather sensor, a temperature sensor, athermometer, a pressure sensor, a wind sensor, a rainfall sensor, a dewpoint sensor, a seismic sensor, a radar detector, a lidar detector, anavigation beacon, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, anaccelerometer, a magnetometer, a pullbox, a communications receiver, acellphone, a wireless router, and a communications sensor configured todetect a transmission.

In some embodiments, the desired functionality can be selected from thegroup consisting of: unmanned aerial vehicle communication ormanagement; autonomous ground vehicle communication or management;threat detection or alerting to detected threats; imaging or monitoringfeatures; weather sensing or weather alerts; environmental sensing orenvironmental alerts; traffic monitoring or traffic alerts; activitysensing or activity alerts; disturbance sensing or disturbance alerts;weapon sensing or alerting to detected weapons; terror sensing oralerting to detected activity indicating possible terror attacks;earthquake movement sensing or earthquake alerts; smoke and fire sensingor smoke and fire alerts; civil unrest and riot detection or alerting tocivil unrest and riots; natural disaster sensing or alerting to detectednatural disasters; accident sensing or accident alerts; othercommunications; roadway construction monitoring; building or structureconstruction monitoring; impaired driver monitoring or impaired driveralerts; intersection violation monitoring or intersection violationalerts; shot identification or suspect tracking; communicationsrepeater; wireless internet provision; vehicle information logging;parking monitoring; and pollution monitoring.

In some embodiments, a sensed event can be selected from the groupconsisting of: a detected threat, a help signal, an alarm, a detectedaccident, a detected exterior motion, a detection of an operation of apull box, a detected activity, an environmental measurement, a detectionof the presence of a vehicle or a pedestrian, a response to a challengequestion posed to an autonomous vehicle, a measurement of a vehicle'sprogression or status, a measurement of construction progress, adetection of transferring a cellphone call, a detection of a WiFihandshake, a detection of energizing of the base station, and adetection of movement of the base station. The detected threat can beselected from the group consisting of: a detection of a weapon beingdischarged, a detection of a crash involving a vehicle, a detection ofan object breaking, a detection of intrusion into a vehicle, a building,or a secured area, a detection of a hostile drone, a detection of avehicle or a person entering into a prohibited area, a detection of agas leak, a detection of smoke, a detection of fire, a detection of anexplosion, a detection of an earthquake, and a detection of pollution.The environmental measurement can include a measurement or change inmeasurement of: temperature, pressure, wind, rain, dewpoint, humidity,light, darkness, measurement, gas particles, airborne particulates,fire, smoke, or pollution. The vehicle's progression or status caninclude: the vehicle's path, speed, distance, direction, altitude, rangeof speed or distance or direction or altitude, change of speed ordistance or direction or altitude, a flight path violation, anintersection violation, and whether the vehicle is weaving.

In some embodiments, the method can include responding to the sensedevent by emitting a sound or by generating a visual identifier. In someembodiments, the method can include producing an output in response tothe sensed event and communicating the output to a mesh, a cellularnetwork, a cloud, a server, or a software element. The mesh, cellularnetwork, cloud, server or software element can be configured tocommunicate with one another through a communications channel. Themethod can include receiving a third party alert by the server orsoftware element. The method can include responding to receiving a thirdparty alert from a third party by providing a visual or audioindication, by sending a communication to or communication with one ormore outside entities, or by providing for control and management ofstreetlights. The outside entities may include control centers,municipal authorities, police departments, fire departments, firstresponders, individual patrol officers or private security guards(whether on foot or in vehicles), third party alarm companies andsimilar private security organizations, vehicles (either air orground-based), other base stations or application modules, othercommunications devices, and the like.

Aspects of the disclosure also provide a method for providing a modularapproach for streetlight management, information provision, informationcollection, and communications with or management of driverlessvehicles. The method can include providing a first unit configured toprovide communications functionality and streetlight controlfunctionality, and providing a second unit configured to provide adesired functionality for a particular application. The second unit canbe coupled or releasably coupled to the first unit. In another aspect, asystem for automatically installing and removing a modular devicecoupled directly or indirectly to a support member can include: amovable base; a telescoping pole attached to the movable base, a lateralarm coupled to a top portion of the telescoping pole at a couplingpoint, wherein an end of the lateral arm is configured to extendlaterally away from the coupling point; and a gripping device coupled tothe end of the lateral arm. In some examples, the telescoping pole maybe motorized and may be configured to be raised or lowered in accordancewith commands received from a command center. Additionally, thetelescoping pole may include a controllable motor configured to rotatethe lateral arm and the lateral arm may include an inverted motor on theend of the lateral arm configured to spin a downward facing grippingdevice clockwise and counterclockwise. In some examples, the movablebase may be mounted on a portion of a vehicle. The gripping device mayinclude a distance sensor and a camera configured to view and locate atarget. The system may include a primary gripping device and a secondarygripping device, wherein the secondary gripping device may be coupled orattached to a second end of the lateral arm. The primary grippingdevice, in conjunction with a sensor and a camera, may be configuredto: 1) find a location of modular device on a streetlight, 2) grip themodular device, 3) apply a downward force to the modular device, 4)twist the modular device free, and 5) hold the modular device tightlywhile the telescoping pole is being lowered. The modular device may be alegacy device, a base station, or an application module. The movablebase may be mounted on a vehicle and the secondary gripping device maybe configured to: 1) locate and grip a new modular device from a rack ora bin on the vehicle, 2) hold the new modular device tightly while thetelescoping pole extends to reach a top portion of the support member,3) locate an empty twist socket on the top portion of the supportmember, 4) insert the new modular device, 5) exert a downward pressureon the new modular device, 6) twist the new modular device into place,and 7) release the new modular device.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual publication, patent, or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.To the extent publications and patents or patent applicationsincorporated by reference contradict the disclosure contained in thespecification, the specification is intended to supersede and/or takeprecedence over any such contradictory material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. A better understanding of the features andadvantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to thefollowing detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments,in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional streetlight assembly;

FIG. 2 depicts an example streetlight assembly that includes an examplecommunications and streetlight management module;

FIG. 3A depicts an example streetlight assembly that includes an examplebase station and an example application module;

FIG. 3B depicts an example streetlight assembly that includes an examplebase station, an example application module, and a camera unit;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example base station;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example application module;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)management module;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example autonomous ground vehiclemanagement module;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example weather module;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example traffic module;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example smoke/fire module;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example transportation constructionmodule;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example building construction module;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example impaired driver module;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example intersection violation module;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example communications repeater module;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an example wireless Internet provisionmodule;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an example parking module;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an example UAV re-charging module;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an example military/port security module;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of an example pipeline integrity module;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of an example air pollution module;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an example UAV detection/airport securitymodule;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of an example base station;

FIG. 24A depicts an embodiment of a modular assembly including a basestation and a camera unit;

FIG. 24B depicts an embodiment of a modular assembly including a basestation, an application module, and a camera unit;

FIG. 24C depicts an embodiment of a modular assembly including a basestation, an application module, and a hollow cap;

FIG. 24D depicts an embodiment of a modular assembly including a basestation, a plurality of application modules, and a camera unit;

FIG. 24E depicts a top view of an embodiment of two application modules;

FIG. 24F depicts a bottom view of an embodiment of one applicationmodule and a top view of an embodiment of a second application module;

FIG. 25A depicts an additional embodiment of a modular streetlightassembly including a base station, an application module, and a cameraunit;

FIG. 25B depicts a cross-sectional view of an additional embodiment of amodular streetlight assembly including a base station, an applicationmodule, and a camera unit;

FIG. 26 depicts a modular streetlight assembly mounted atop astreetlight;

FIG. 27 depicts an example base station attached to an example supportmember featuring a second application module attached to a firstapplication module;

FIG. 28 depicts an example base station mounted interior of a pole of asupport member;

FIG. 29 is a view of an example streetlight assembly including astreetlight housing and one or more luminaires;

FIG. 30 depicts an example flight path of an unmanned aerial vehiclefrom an initial location on the flight path, through a second locationon the flight path, to a third location on the flight path;

FIG. 31 is a view of a screen capture of a video that can be provided bya UAV management module;

FIG. 32 is a conceptual diagram of an example unmanned aerial vehicleflight environment and an example system for communicating with unmannedaerial vehicles operating within (or outside of) the environment;

FIG. 33 is a conceptual diagram of example air corridors;

FIG. 34A shows a communications station associated with a lightingassembly in communication with a UAV via a wireless communication link;

FIG. 34B shows a communications station associated with a lightingassembly in communication with a UAV via a satellite communication link;

FIG. 34C shows a communications station associated with a lightingassembly in communication with a UAV via a networked communication link;

FIG. 35 is a conceptual diagram depicting an example UAV receiving acharging signal from an example communications station;

FIG. 36 is a block diagram of an example communications station;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of an example method that may be used tocommunicate with an unmanned aerial vehicle;

FIG. 38 illustrates an example of equipment that can be used toimplement an example heightened security communications protocol;

FIG. 39 is a conceptual diagram of an example unmanned aerial vehicleflight environment and an example system for communicating with unmannedaerial vehicles operating within the environment;

FIG. 40 is a block diagram of an example UAV;

FIG. 41 is a conceptual diagram of an example environment that includesa designated or prescribed airspace and airspace associated with privateproperty;

FIG. 42A is a conceptual diagram of an example property and a firstexample access grant area;

FIG. 42B is a conceptual diagram of an example property and a secondexample access grant area;

FIG. 42C is a conceptual diagram of an example property and a thirdexample access grant area;

FIG. 43 is a conceptual diagram of an example user interface throughwhich a user may provide information to register unmanned aerial vehicleaccess rights to property or to airspace associated with a property;

FIG. 44 is an example unmanned aerial vehicle flight environment;

FIG. 45 is a flowchart of an example method for registering an accessgrant area for a property to permit unmanned aerial vehicle flightwithin the access grant area;

and FIG. 46 shows a system for the automated or non-automatedinstallation and removal of application modules.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A modular approach is provided that facilitates the quick and easyimplementation of flexible and customizable applications for localizedor wide area coverage of different applications for a smart city. Themethod and system includes a first unit configured to providecommunications functionality and a second unit configured to provide adesired functionality for a particular application. Because the secondunit can be configured to be modular and releasably coupled to the firstunit, it can be easily swapped out or exchanged for a different unitconfigured to provide a different functionality or can be used with oneor more additional units, each providing its own customizablefunctionality. The first and second units can be configured to bemechanically connected or mechanically stackable. Additional secondunits can be mechanically connected to or mechanically stackable withthe original first and second unit. Alternatively, the second unit canbe activated, deactivated, or reactivated electronically by software.The second unit can be part of or on the same device as the first unitbut can be selectively activated, deactivated, or reactivatedelectronically.

The method and system can employ various sensors and smart devices tosense and detect certain activity or events, can collect, aggregate, andevaluate data generated by the activity or events (for instance, usingartificial intelligence, machine learning, and/or data miningtechniques), and can provide a response depending on the particularapplication or purpose. The system may be configured to be easilyupdated or upgraded over time as newer and more sophisticated sensorsand/or communication technology are developed and/or as new technologyis developed.

The modular approach can be implemented quickly and easily, essentiallyproviding a turnkey solution or “Smart City in a Box” that can beadapted to different situations and needs to provide a basic, primary,or base level of functionality and/or a desired or customizedfunctionality over localized or wide area coverage for a wide range ofdifferent applications. A distinct advantage of this approach is that itmay utilize a city's existing infrastructure of streetlights and othersupport structures to provide a widespread grid of sensors and detectorsat a substantially uniform height above ground level. In someembodiments, a smart city base station module can be coupled to astreetlight assembly, or installed or implemented at the top of astreetlight or other support structure within ten, twenty, or thirtyseconds and in some cases no more than thirty seconds, or at leastwithin one, two, three, five, ten, or fifteen minutes. The first unit,base unit, or base station can be configured to be fully operationalonce installed or implemented to provide immediate and instantaneousdetection and/or communication functionality at a first, primary, orbase level. Similarly, one or more second units or application modulescan be installed, implemented, or coupled to the first unit, base unit,or base station at the top of the streetlight or other support structurewithin ten, twenty, or thirty seconds and in some cases no more thanthirty seconds, or at least within one, two, three, five, ten, orfifteen minutes. The second unit or application module can be configuredto be fully operational once installed, implemented, or coupled to thefirst unit or base station and can provide immediate and instantaneousdetection and/or communication functionality at a second or secondarylevel. Thus, a fully operational “Smart City in a Box” system includinga first unit or base station and/or a second unit or application modulecan be installed or implemented at the top of the streetlight or othersupport structure within ten, twenty, or thirty seconds and in somecases no more than thirty seconds, or at least within one, two, three,five, ten, or fifteen minutes to provide a city with communications,monitoring, and detection functionality nearly instantaneously (e.g.within ten, twenty, or thirty seconds and in some cases no more thanthirty seconds, or at least within one, two, three, five, ten, orfifteen minutes). Accordingly, using a “plug and play” attachment asprovided by the system and method, a city can set up a security andsensor system in a matter of a few days as opposed to the months oryears it can take when using conventional streetlight replacementapproaches. The modular system approach is also flexible andcustomizable in that an application module can be immediately replaced,swapped, or exchanged with a different application module to fit a newsituation. Alternatively, if a particular functionality is required in aparticular location, an application module customized to provide theparticular functionality can be added by simply snapping or otherwisecoupling the application module to the first unit or base station, or toanother application module that is already coupled to the first unit orbase station. In other examples, the application module may be coupleddirectly to a support member and the base station coupled to theapplication module by snapping or otherwise coupling the base station tothe application module.

The method and system may employ a high speed CPU, memory and supportcomponents that provide expansive computer power within the base module.This computer power allows the programming of the streetlight itself,using such standard programs as Python, C and the like, as well asproviding an ability to immediately upgrade software in the base moduleand in the application module to improve performance and security. Thecomputer also allows combined units such as base stations andapplication modules to assess multiple sensor inputs and to use a set ofalgorithms, rules and networks to assess whether an event of interesthas occurred.

Additionally, the power and sophistication of such programming rules andtriggers within the on-board computer are expected to grow rapidly withthe development of computer power and memory, allowing an eventualevolution to true Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the streetlightitself. In particular, where an event takes place, the initialprogramming rules and later AI may autonomously trigger many furthersteps, such as transmitting alerts, data, video and controlling andflashing the streetlight and selected local streetlights as illuminationand warnings, as well as managing cameras and other devices as describedherein. The data recorded from events of interest as well as theprogramming steps and results that can be triggered by the event arestreamed after the event occurs to the cloud where existing AI tools,using much more powerful servers and memory, can refine those triggersand programming steps to reduce false positive events and refineresponses in the street light level programming.

In some embodiments, data accumulated by the base module and applicationmodules may be transmitted wirelessly, such as by Bluetooth, Zigbee,WiFi, or Cellular, to the cloud and a Cloud Services Provider (CSP).That CSP may accumulate data, report on the health of the modules andthe network, aggregate data from multiple data sources within themodules, disaggregate the data for individual transmission (includingalerts) in data bursts directed to specific clients who have paid forthat specific package of services. These may include public agencies,fire, police, federal departments and private companies and individuals.As an integral part of this system, those clients may be supplied withdashboards that may report the data they wish, both in graphic forms,video, still images and in the actual and historical data streams fromtheir designated venues.

The modular approach can be used to provide a universal security andnavigation device capable of real-time visualization, focused andcomplete 360-degree coverage, and that has customized sensor capabilityto detect daily activities, perimeter breaches, cars, trucks, or othervehicles, drone flights, extreme weather, and other activities.

Described herein are methods, devices, and systems that can be used toprovide a modular approach for streetlight management, informationprovision, information collection, communications with, or managementof, driverless vehicles (such as unmanned aerial vehicles or driverlessground-based vehicles), and other functionality. For example, methods,devices, and systems are described for providing a first unit, referredto herein as a base station, that can provide, for example,communications functionality and streetlight control functionality, andfor providing a second unit, referred to herein as an applicationmodule, that can be attached to the first unit and can be configured ina variety of configurations to provide a desired functionality for aparticular application. In some examples, the base station and theapplication module can function collaboratively to provide an enhancedset of features.

Some of the discussion herein will focus on methods, devices, andsystems that can be used with one or more streetlights. Alternatively,some of the methods, devices, and systems can be used with one or moretraffic lights, utility poles, towers (such as cellular communicationstowers), communications station poles, road signs, display monitors,buildings, trees, billboards, bridges, or any other appropriate supportmember including vehicles such as cars. While unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) are discussed herein, it will be understood that UAVs can includeunmanned aerial systems, drones, unmanned aircraft, driverless aerialvehicles, autonomous aerial vehicles, and the like. While autonomousground vehicles are discussed herein, it will be understood thatautonomous ground vehicles can include unmanned ground vehicles,driverless vehicles, unmanned ground systems, assisted ground vehicle,and the like.

In some examples, a base station may be mounted to a streetlightassembly, and an application module may be mounted to the base station.The examples discussed herein will assume that the base station ismounted to a streetlight assembly. For example, the base station may beattached to the streetlight assembly in place of a conventional opticalsensor that is commonly found on many current streetlight assemblyinstallations (typically at or near a top of the streetlight assembly),or may be attached in another manner. In some examples, the base stationmay be mounted to a traffic light, a utility pole, a tower (such as acellular communications tower), a communications station pole, a roadsign, a display monitor, a building, a tree, a billboard, a bridge, orany other appropriate support member.

Alternate power sources located in cars/trucks andcommercial-retail/industrial/residential buildings can be utilized andcan allow the base station or application module to achieve theirrespective functionalities as described herein. The alternative powersources may include, for example, 120V AC for houses, jobsites, andcommercial purposes and 12V for ground vehicles such as cars and trucks.To utilize these power sources, an ANSI twist plug may be employed tosecure the base station or application module to a circular base. Thecircular base may include a plug for a standard three prong 120V plugand a separate plug for a 12V cord that can plug into a vehicle'scigarette lighter. The 120V power lead can connect to the ANSI plug ofthe base station or application module and the 12 volt lead can go upthrough a separate connection to the base station's or applicationmodule's 12V to 5V transformer.

In some examples such as implementations where the base station orapplication module is mounted to a support member other than astreetlight, the base station may either be powered by the supportmember or a component of the support member, if appropriate, or may beself-powered (for example, powered by one or more batteries), or may bepowered in an alternative way (for example, solar power, wind power,hydroelectric power, or the like). In any of these examples, anapplication module may be attached to the base station.

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional streetlight assembly 100. The streetlightassembly 100 may include a streetlight pole 102, a streetlight unit 104,and an optical sensor 106 attached to the streetlight unit 104, or toanother area of the streetlight assembly. The optical sensor may includea photocell or other appropriate optical sensor. The optical sensor mayinclude an electrical plug (not shown) that may be attached to orplugged into an electrical receptacle (not shown) of the streetlightunit. In this manner, the optical sensor may be powered by electricalenergy of the streetlight assembly via an electrical connection betweenthe optical sensor and the streetlight assembly. The streetlight unitmay include one or more luminaires (not shown) for the streetlightassembly, for example.

FIG. 2 depicts an example streetlight assembly 200 that includes anexample communications and streetlight management module 202. Thestreetlight assembly may include the conventional streetlight pole 102and streetlight unit 104 depicted in FIG. 1 and described herein. Thecommunications and streetlight management module may be referred to as abase station, as it may provide a base level, or first level, of modularfunctionality for a system that provides streetlight management,information provision, information collection, and communications with,or management of, driverless vehicles (such as unmanned aerial vehiclesor driverless ground-based vehicles), and other functionality. The basestation 202, as described herein, may be attached to the streetlightassembly. For example, the base station may include an electrical plug(not shown) that may connect with the conventional electrical receptacleof the streetlight unit that is configured to receive an electrical plugof a photocell. In this manner, components of the base station may bepowered by electrical energy from the streetlight assembly via anelectrical connection between the base station and the streetlightassembly.

FIG. 3A depicts an example streetlight assembly 300 that includes anexample base station 202 and an example application module 302. Thestreetlight assembly may include a conventional streetlight pole 102 andstreetlight unit 104. The streetlight assembly may also include the basestation 202 of FIG. 2 . The base station may be attached to thestreetlight assembly in the same manner as was the base station of FIG.2 . An application module 302 may be attached to the base station, andmay provide a second level of modular functionality for a system thatprovides streetlight management, information provision, informationcollection, communications with, or management of, driverless vehicles(such as unmanned aerial vehicles or driverless ground-based vehicles),and other functionality. The application module may be attached to thebase station, which may be attached to the streetlight assembly. Forexample, the application module may include an electrical plug orreceptacle (not shown) that can connect with a second electrical plug orreceptacle of the base station (not shown), and components of theapplication module may be powered by electrical energy from the basestation via the connection between the application module and the basestation. The application module may include further sockets such thatadditional application modules can be selectively added or stacked onthe first application module.

FIG. 3B depicts an example streetlight assembly that includes an examplebase station, an example application module, and a camera module orcamera unit. The streetlight assembly may include any or all of theelements discussed with reference to FIG. 3A. Additionally, thestreetlight assembly may include a camera module or camera unit 304. Thecamera module or camera unit may be integrated with the base station, sothat the base station and camera unit are installed as a single unit.Owing to the frequent use of video in the systems and methods describedherein, the base station with an integrated camera unit may be utilizedin the majority of applications. However, the camera unit need not beintegrated with the base station. In some cases, the camera unit may bea standalone unit or module that is separate from the base station. Insuch cases, the camera unit may be stacked or used in combination withany one or more of the application modules described herein. Forexample, the camera unit may be stacked on top of or below any of theapplication modules described herein. FIG. 3B further depicts anexpanded view of the camera unit 304. The camera unit may beapproximately dome-shaped. The camera unit may be shaped in any otherappropriate manner. The camera unit may include one or more cutout areasthat allow one or more cameras to obtain a view of the area surroundingthe camera unit. The camera unit may include one, two, three, four, ormore than four cameras. The cameras may be arranged in such a manner asto allow a 360 degree view of the area surrounding the camera unit. Forinstance, four cameras may be spaced at 90 degree angles from oneanother around a circumference of the camera unit.

The systems described in FIGS. 3A-B may further include an inert module(not shown), which may be located at a position above the base station,any applications modules, and the camera unit. The inert module may beconfigured to provide protection to the base station, any applicationsmodules, and the camera unit. For instance, the inert module may beconfigured to provide protection against ultraviolet radiation, dust andother particulate matter, bird droppings, and/or other elements whichmay degrade performance of the system. The inert module may furtherfacilitate passive thermal design of the system. In some situations,local weather or circumstances indicate the attachment of the inertmodule, which may include an upper shield or hat to protect the baseunit or base station, cameras, and other components of the modularassembly from inclement weather, birds, excessive heat, or ice melting.

The base station and the application module may provide a myriad ofutilities. For example, the base station may be mounted singularly to astreetlight (for instance, as depicted in FIG. 2 ), and may, togetherwith other base stations mounted to other streetlights, provide anetwork for wireless control of streetlights. The base stations mayconnect to the streetlights at an existing receptacle of thestreetlights and communicate wirelessly with other base stations or witha remote control center, or communicate with other communicationsdevices. Also, the base stations may be easily inserted (such as by adownward or twisting motion) into an existing receptacle or socket ofthe streetlight. From its perch atop the streetlight assembly, the basestation may provide a stable and lockable attachment location for one ormore application modules. The application modules may be configured in avariety of configurations to provide functionality tailored for aparticular application. Application modules may also be upgradeable, andmay be easily interchanged or removed. For instance, the applicationmodules may be easily interchanged or removed with a simple twist of theapplication module or twist and lift, without disrupting thefunctionality of the base station. Installation of a base station or anapplication module may require no wiring or special skills, and the basestation and application module may be easily replaced or upgradedindividually or as a pair. For instance, the base station andapplication modules may be replaced or upgraded individually or as apair by applying an upward force or a twist, or a combination of theforegoing. Because a wide range of functionality may be provided in amodular fashion with configurable application modules, a customer mayinitially start with a base station only, and may upgrade over time andadd one or more application modules, depending on desired functionality.Base stations or application modules may be reusable. Base stations mayprovide information to application modules and may providecommunications functionality and control or processing functionality toapplication modules. This may minimize a number of components includedwith an application module.

The base station and/or application modules may each be configured to becoupled or stacked together in an assembly that may resemble a stack ofcylinders. In some cases, the assembly including the base station and/orapplication modules or stack of cylinders may have a dome-shaped top.The dome-shaped top may be a hollow unit, an application module, or acamera module or camera unit having a dome-shape that is mounted to thetop of the assembly including the base station and/or applicationmodules. The base station and application modules may each be ofrelatively large width and relatively small height resembling forexample, disks of the same or varying thicknesses. When assembledtogether, the base station and application modules may have a taperedshape or other shape configured for a specific purpose, such as reducingresistance to wind or for limiting or preventing wind-induced forcedresonance and/or aeroelastic flutter.

The use of an easily installed and quickly detachable base station andany of the available modules may present a unique sales, marketing andwarrantee strategy. The modules may be easily offered for short-termtrials (such as 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days) or short-term leases foruse during special events. The installation and removal costs may be lowenough that the base station and application modules may be tried out bya potential user without incurring significant expense or risk. Theremay be little or no cost to removing a street light or retoolingexisting lights. As such, the modular aspect of the invention may offersubstantial advantages over other security equipment or streetlightequipment that requires extensive civil engineering, trenching, andwiring which may be largely irreversible.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example base station 202. The basestation 202 may include a housing 400 and one or more components thatmay provide a first set of functionality. The one or more components maybe located within the housing. Some or all of the included components ofthe base station may be powered, for example, by energy provided by thestreetlight assembly (or other support member) to which the base stationmay be attached. A first electrical plug or receptacle 402 of the basestation may be connected with an electrical plug or receptacle of thestreetlight assembly. Electrical components of the base station may bepowered by energy provided by the streetlight assembly through theconnection. The first electrical plug or receptacle of the base stationmay be included at or near a bottom surface 404 or a downward-facingsurface of the housing of the base station. The electrical plug orreceptacle of the streetlight assembly may be included at or near anupper surface or an upward-facing surface of the streetlight assembly.The first electrical plug or receptacle of the base station may be athree-prong plug. The first electrical plug or receptacle of the basestation may be a three-prong plug plus a data channel, where thethree-prong plug provides an electrical connection and grounding and thedata channel permits data to be transferred between the base station andthe streetlight assembly.

The base station may be quickly mounted to the streetlight assembly byaligning the first electrical plug or receptacle of the base stationwith the electrical plug or receptacle of the streetlight assembly andapplying a downward force on the base station and/or applying a rotatingforce or a twisting force to the base station. The downward, rotating,and twisting forces may be applied in sequence in any order or in anycombination. Some of the examples discussed herein assume that the basestation is powered by the streetlight assembly to which it is attached.

In other examples, the base station 22 may not be powered by thestreetlight assembly or other support member to which the base stationis attached. In these cases, the base station may be powered by abattery, by light energy (such as solar power), by wind energy, byhydroelectric energy, or by other power sources as known in the art oryet to be developed. For example, alternate power sources located incars/trucks and commercial-retail/industrial/residential buildings canbe utilized as power sources and can allow the base station orapplication module to achieve their respective functionalities. Suchalternative power sources may include 120V AC for houses, jobsites, andcommercial purposes and 12V for ground vehicles such as cars and trucks.To utilize these power sources, an ANSI twist plug may be employed tosecure the base station or application module to a circular base. Thecircular base may include a plug for a standard three prong 120V plugand a separate plug for a 12V cord that can plug into a vehicle'scigarette lighter. The 120V power lead can connect to the ANSI plug ofthe base station or application module and the 12 volt lead can go upthrough a separate connection to the base station's or applicationmodule's 12V to 5V transformer.

The connection between the first plug or receptacle of the base stationand the plug or receptacle of the streetlight assembly may be the lonelocation of attachment between the base station and the streetlightassembly. One or more additional locations of attachment may be includedbetween the base station and the streetlight assembly. The base stationmay be physically secured to the streetlight assembly, in addition tothe electrical connection, by one or more mechanical connections. Forexample, a tongue-in-groove mechanical connection between the basestation and the streetlight assembly may be used. The base station maybe secured to the streetlight assembly with one or more nuts and bolts,screws, or other appropriate attachment components. The base station mayinclude one or more latches (not shown) that may be latched to one ormore portions of the streetlight assembly. The streetlight assembly mayinclude one or more latches that may be latched to one or more portionsof the base station. The base station may be attached to the streetlightassembly by one or more mechanical connections, without an electricalconnection as described above. The base station and the streetlightassembly may be connected in a manner that locks the base station to thestreetlight assembly. For example, the base station may include a firstlocking feature and the streetlight assembly may include a secondlocking feature. The first locking feature and the second lockingfeature together may permit the base station to be locked to thestreetlight assembly.

The base station may include one or more components that may provide afirst set of functionality. For example, the base station may house oneor more components that may provide one or more of wirelesscommunications functionality and streetlight control functionality. Thebase station may include, for example, a communications module 406 and aprocessing module 408.

The communications module of the base station may include one or moreantennas 407. The communications module may communicate wirelessly withone or more other base stations, each of which may be mounted, forexample, to a streetlight assembly or to another appropriate supportmember. The wireless communications may take place over one or morenetworks. The communications module may be configured to communicatewirelessly using a long-range wireless communications technology ortechnologies. The base station may also communicate wirelessly with acontrol center or other entity (such as another communications device)remote from the base station. The control center may include a municipaloffice or headquarters, a police station, a fire department, anemergency response department, or a mobile unit corresponding to any ofthe foregoing examples.

The communications module (or another communications module) of the basestation may also be configured to communicate wirelessly usingcomparatively short-range wireless communications technology ortechnologies. The communications module of the base station maycommunicate wirelessly with an attached application module usingBluetooth or other appropriate short-range or long-range wirelesscommunication technology.

The communications module may communicate using various modes orprotocols, including but not limited to GSM voice calls, messagingprotocols (such as SMS, EMS, or MMS messaging), CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA,CDMA2000, GPRS, 4G protocols (such as 4G LTE), and/or other appropriateprotocols. Such communication may occur, for example, through one ormore radio-frequency transceivers. In addition, short-rangecommunication may occur, such as using a Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other suchtransceivers. The communications module may communicate messages usingone or more networks or communication links, such as one or morecellular or other phone-based networks, over remote control radiofrequency links, UHF or L-band frequency links, microwave frequencylinks, the Internet, the “cloud” or one or more networks providingaccess to the Internet or the cloud, one or more mesh networks, local orwide-area networks, a microwave network, a radio frequency network, orother appropriate datalinks or networks, a public network and/or aprivate network, or other appropriate datalinks, networks, orcommunication paths. The base station, or the base station incombination with one or more application modules, may be considered arouter because it may provide wireless communications or route wirelesscommunications to or from one or more other entities.

The communications module of the base station may include acommunications security module 410 configured to provide securecommunications between the base station and the application module, orbetween the base station and the entity with which it is communicating.For instance, the communications security module may be configured toprovide secure communications between the based station and another basestation, a second (or third, fourth, etc.) application module (such asan application module attached to application module 302), anapplication module that is not attached to the base station (such as aremote application module), a control center, an unmanned aerialvehicle, a driverless ground-based vehicle, or other appropriate entity(such as another communications device).

The processing module of the base station may include one or moreprocessors, such as one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers thatare capable of executing instructions to perform desired tasks. Theprocessing module may include a light control module 412. The lightcontrol module may be configured to, for example, adjust an intensity ofone or more luminaires of the streetlight assembly. The light controlmodule may increase an intensity of a luminaire of the streetlightassembly (i.e., to make the luminaire brighter), decrease an intensityof a luminaire of the streetlight assembly (i.e., to dim or make theluminaire less bright), turn a luminaire of the streetlight assemblycompletely off, and/or turn on a luminaire of the streetlight assembly.

The base station may receive an instruction to adjust an intensity ofone or more luminaires of the streetlight. For example, thecommunications module of the base station may receive a message thatinstructs the base station to alter (such as to increase, decrease, turnon, and/or turn off) an intensity of a luminaire of the streetlightassembly. The light control module may cause an intensity of a luminaireof the streetlight to be altered accordingly. The light control modulemay include a digital relay or mechanical relay or one or more othercomponents than can be used to turn on, turn off, decrease, or increaselighting intensity of one or more luminaires of the streetlightassembly. The streetlight unit may include one or more banks ofluminaires. The light control module may be used to adjust intensity inany of the previously described ways for the one or more banks ofluminaires.

The base station may include a power module 414. The power module maytake as input a first energy signal (such as an alternating current (AC)or direct current (DC) signal) and produce as output one or more outputenergy signals (such as one or more DC signals). For example, the powermodule 44 may include one or more AC/DC converters (not shown) and/ormay include one or more DC/DC converters (not shown). The power modulemay produce one or more appropriate voltage signals to power thecomponents of the base station. For example, the power module mayreceive a first energy signal from the streetlight assembly via thefirst plug or receptacle and may convert the first energy signal intoone or more electrical signals. The converted electrical signals may beappropriate for powering components of the base station, or in somecases for powering components of the base station and components of oneor more attached application modules.

The base station may include one or more batteries 415. The batteriesmay be used to power components of the base station and/or to powercomponents of one or more application modules that may be attached tothe base station during power failures. For example, the batteries mayprovide power when the base station is removed from its support member(such as a streetlight assembly). The power module may include acharging component that charges the one or more batteries. Theprocessing module may detect when the base station has been detachedfrom its support member, and may cause a message to be transmitted viathe communications module indicating that the base station has beendetached from its support member. This may be useful for detecting andalerting to theft attempts, for example. The transmitted message mayinclude a location identifier provided by a global position system (GPS)module 426, so that if the removed base station is transported to adifferent location, the message may include an indication of thedifferent location. This may aid in recovery of the base station, forexample.

The base station may include a data store 416 that may store informationuseful for performing the functionality of the base station. The datastore may store information useful for functionality performed by anapplication module, or by a combination of the application module andthe base station. A precise location identifier 418 of the base station(or of a portion of the base station) may be stored in the data store.The precise location identifier may include a latitude identifier, alongitude identifier, and/or an elevation identifier. The latitude,longitude, and/or elevation identifiers may correspond to a fixed pointon a support member or infrastructure, or to an installed location ofthe base station or of a portion of the base station. For instance, theinstalled location may be a centerline or a point on the centerline ofthe base station at a bottom surface of the base station when installedon a support member (such as at or near an upper surface of astreetlight). The precise location identifier may identify a location onthe base station where a charging signal for use by an unmanned aerialvehicle may be provided. The precise location identifier may bedetermined, for example, by a surveying operation (such as a lasersurvey) and may be accurate to a higher degree of accuracy than ispossible with global positioning system information. For example, theprecise location identifier may be accurate to within 1 foot, to within6 inches, to within 4 inches, to within 3 inches, to within 2 inches, orto within 1 inch. The precise location identifier may be provided by aninformation service.

The data store may store one or more precise location identifiers 420for one or more points of interest, such as a location of the supportmember to which the base station is attached, one or more locationsassociated with a road in a vicinity of the base station, and/or for oneor more airborne locations in a vicinity of the base station. Theprecise location identifier or the one or more precise locationidentifiers may be communicated to one or more of an unmanned aerialvehicle or unmanned aerial system, may be communicated to an unmannedground vehicle system, and/or may assist the unmanned aerial vehicle,unmanned aerial system, or unmanned ground vehicle system. The one ormore precise location identifiers may be determined by a surveyingoperation (such as a laser survey), and may be accurate to a higherdegree of accuracy than is possible with global positioning systeminformation. The precision of the location may be a function of thesubscription rate paid by a user of a service associated with the basestation and/or application modules described herein. A higher precisionof the location may give rise to a higher cost to the user. Thus, atitle company or surveyor may pay more for a subscription with higherprecision (such as precision to the nearest 1 inch, 3 inches, or 6inches) than a subscriber who needs lower precision (such as precisionto the nearest 1 foot).

The base station may include one or more measurement components 422,such as an energy measurement component (for instance, an electricalmeter to measure electrical energy used), a temperature measurementcomponent to measure ambient temperature in a vicinity of the basestation, an ambient light measurement component (such as a photocell),and/or or other appropriate measurement components. In some cases, thebase station may not include the one or more measurement components. Thebase station may include one or more detection components 424, such asone or more motion detectors that can detect motion in a vicinity of thebase station, one or more microphones that can detect sounds in avicinity of the base station, one or more cameras, one or more radar orlidar components, a communications signal detection component, and/orother appropriate detection components. The one or more detectioncomponents may detect a presence of a nearby vehicle (such as an aerialor ground-based vehicle), nearby humans, and/or nearby communicationsdevices. The one or more detection components may detect a removalattempt of the base station from the streetlight assembly. In somecases, the base station may not include the one or more detectioncomponent. The base station may include a GPS component 516. The GPScomponent may be used to provide initial startup location information,until the precise location information is available, or locationinformation that may be useful if the base station is moved to anotherlocation. In some cases, the base station may not include the GPScomponent.

The base station may include a second electrical plug or receptacle 428configured to mate with an electrical plug or receptacle of theapplication module. The second electrical plug or receptacle may belocated at or near an upper surface 429 of the base station. Electricalcomponents included with the application module may be powered by energyprovided by the base station, for example via the streetlight assembly,through the connection between the base station and the applicationmodule. The second electrical plug or receptacle may include a male orfemale Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. Two or more second electricalplugs or receptacles may be included with the base station (forinstance, two USB ports, or one USB port and another type of plug orreceptacle). The two or more electrical plugs or receptacles may be usedfor attaching an application module to the base station.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example application module 500. Theapplication module may correspond to the application module 302 of FIGS.3A-B. The application module may include a housing 502 and one or morecomponents that can provide a second set of functionality to complementthe functionality provided by the base station. The one or moreapplication module components may be located within the housing of theapplication module. The application module may include a firstelectrical plug or receptacle 504 that may attach, in some examples, tothe second plug or receptacle 428 of the base station (shown in FIG. 4). The first electrical plug or receptacle of the application module maybe located at or near a bottom surface 506 or a downward-facing surfaceof the application module. The second electrical plug or receptacle 428of the base station 202 (shown in FIG. 4 ) may be located at or near theupper surface 429 (shown in FIG. 4 ) or an upward-facing surface of thebase station. The second electrical plug or receptacle 428 of the basestation may be covered or protected by a removable cover or a movablecover (not shown). The first electrical plug or receptacle of theapplication module may include a female or male USB port. Two or moreelectrical plugs or receptacles may be included with the applicationmodule (such as two USB ports, or one USB port and another type of plugor receptacle). The two or more electrical plugs or receptacles may beused for attaching the application module to the base station. The firstelectrical plug or receptacle of the application module may be used toattach the application module directly to the support member (forinstance, directly to a streetlight assembly) without attaching theapplication module physically to a base station. The connections betweenthe base station and the application modules or camera unit may beconfigured so as to prevent the attachment of unapproved applicationmodules to the base station or to other application modules. In somecases, the connections may utilize a unique or a proprietary design.

The first electrical plug or receptacle 504 of the application modulemay include a three-prong plug, and the second plug or receptacle 428 ofthe base station may include a three-prong receptacle. The firstelectrical plug or receptacle of the application module may include athree-prong plug plus a data channel, where the three-prong plugprovides an electrical connection and grounding and the data channelpermits data to be transferred between the application module and thebase station. The first electrical plug or receptacle of the applicationmodule may a custom plug and the second plug or receptacle of the basestation may be a custom receptacle (or vice versa). The applicationmodule may be quickly mounted to the base station by aligning the firstelectrical plug or receptacle of the application module with the secondelectrical plug or receptacle of the base station and applying adownward force on the application module. The application module may bequickly mounted to the base station by aligning the first electricalplug or receptacle of the application module with the second electricalplug or receptacle of the base station, by applying a downward force onthe application module, and then applying a rotating force or a twistingforce to the application module. The application module may be quicklymounted to the base station by aligning the first electrical plug orreceptacle of the application module with the second electrical plug orreceptacle of the base station, and applying a rotating force or atwisting force to the application module.

In some cases, the connector is a standard connector, while in somecases it will be a unique, proprietary connector.

The connection between the first electrical plug or receptacle of theapplication module and the second electrical plug or receptacle of thebase station may be the lone location of attachment between theapplication module and the base station. One or more additionallocations of attachment may be included between the application moduleand the base station. The application module may be physically securedto the base station, in addition to the electrical connection, by one ormore mechanical connections. For example, a tongue-in-groove mechanicalconnection between the application module and the base station may beused; the application module may be secured to the base station with oneor more nuts and bolts, screws, or other appropriate attachmentcomponents. The application module may include one or more latches thatmay be latched to one or more portions of the base station. The basestation may include one or more latches that may be latched to one ormore portions of the application module. In some case, the applicationmodule may be attached to the base station by one or more mechanicalconnections without an electrical connection. The base station and theapplication module may be connected in a manner that locks theapplication module to the base station. For example, the base stationmay include a first locking feature and the application module mayinclude a second locking feature. The first locking feature and thesecond locking feature together may permit the application module to belocked to the base station. In addition to electrical power transferthrough the connection between the base station and application module,data may be transferred between the base station and the applicationmodule via the connection.

The base station may use the first energy signal from the streetlightassembly to produce one or more voltage signals to power the componentsof the base station and may also pass the first energy signal on to thesecond electrical plug or receptacle of the base station. In thismanner, a power module 501 of the application module may also use thefirst energy signal to produce one or more output energy signals (suchas one or more DC signals). The base station may make one or more of theone or more output energy signals generated by the power module of thebase station available at the second electrical plug or receptacle ofthe base station. The application module may also use the one or moreoutput energy signals of the base station to power components of theapplication module. In some cases, the application module may notinclude the power module.

The application module may include a communications module 503 that mayinclude one or more antennas used to wirelessly communicate with thebase station to which it is attached. The communications module may beused to communicate with other entities, such as with a driverlessvehicle (for instance, an unmanned aerial vehicle or a driverlessground-based vehicle), a base station remote from the applicationmodule, a control center, or other appropriate entity (such as anothercommunications device). The communications module may communicate usingvarious modes or protocols, including but not limited to GSM voicecalls, messaging protocols (such as SMS, EMS, or MMS messaging), CDMA,TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, GPRS, 4G protocols (such as 4G LTE), 5Gprotocols, and/or other appropriate protocols. Such communication mayoccur, for example, through one or more radio-frequency transceivers. Inaddition, short-range communication may occur, such as using aBluetooth, Wi-Fi, and/or other such transceivers. The communicationsmodule may communicate messages using one or more networks orcommunication links, such as one or more cellular or other phone-basednetworks, over remote control radio frequency links, UHF or L-bandfrequency links, microwave frequency links, the Internet, the “cloud” orone or more networks providing access to the Internet or the cloud, oneor more mesh networks, local or wide-area networks, a microwave network,a radio frequency network, or other appropriate datalinks or networks, apublic network and/or a private network, or other appropriate datalinks,networks, or communication paths.

The communications module of the application module may communicate withthe communications module of the base station using short-rangecommunications technologies (such as Bluetooth or other appropriateshort-range communications technology), and the communications module ofthe base station (in addition to communicating with the applicationmodule) may communicate with other entities using longer-rangecommunication technologies. In this fashion, the base station may serveas a communications hub for an installation of a base station and one ormore application modules by providing communications capability tooutside entities. The outside entities may include control centers,municipal authorities, police departments, fire departments, firstresponders, individual patrol officers or private security guards(whether on foot or in vehicles), third party alarm companies andsimilar private security organizations, vehicles (either air orground-based), other base stations or application modules, othercommunications devices, and the like.

The application module may include a processing module 505 that mayinclude one or more processors, such as one or more microprocessors ormicrocontrollers that are capable of executing instructions to performdesired tasks. In general, the application module may work together withthe base station, or work independently, to perform tasks and towirelessly communicate messages to remote entities (such as controlcenters, municipal authorities, police departments, fire departments,first responders, vehicles (air or ground-based), other base stations orapplication modules, other communications devices, and the like).

A second application module or multiple application modules may be“stacked” on top of the application module that is attached to the basestation. The application module may also include a second electricalplug or receptacle 507 configured to mate with an electrical plug orreceptacle of another application module to provide electrical energy tothe another application module. The second plug or receptacle may belocated at or near an upper surface or an upward-facing surface of theapplication module. In some cases, the application module does notinclude the second plug or receptacle.

The application module may provide a second set of functionality. Forexample, a wide variety of functionality may be provided by anapplication module, depending on the configuration of the applicationmodule, and the application module may be mounted to the base station asdescribed herein. For instance, an application module may providefunctionality related to one or more of the following: a) unmannedaerial vehicle communication or management; b) autonomous ground vehicle(or other type of ground vehicle) communication or management; c) threatdetection and/or alerting to same; d) imaging and/or monitoringfeatures; e) weather sensing and/or alerting to same; f) environmentalsensing and/or alerting to same; g) traffic monitoring and/or alertingto same; h) activity sensing and/or alerting to same; i) disturbancesensing and/or alerting to same; j) weapon sensing and/or alerting tosame; k) terror sensing and/or alerting to same; l) earthquake movementsensing and/or alerting to same; m) smoke and/or fire sensing and/oralerting to same; n) civil unrest and/or riot detection and/or alertingto same; o) natural disaster sensing and/or alerting to same; p)accident sensing and/or alerting to same; q) other communications; r)roadway construction monitoring; s) building and/or structureconstruction monitoring; t) impaired driver monitoring and/or alertingto same; u) intersection violation monitoring/or and alerting to same;v) shot identification and/or suspect tracking; w) communicationsrepeater; x) wireless internet provision; y) vehicle informationlogging; z) parking monitoring; and/or aa) pollution monitoring.

The application module may include an application specific module 508.The application specific module may include one or morecomponents/modules to provide specific functionality for a givenapplication, including one or more of the applications described herein.For example, the application specific module may include one or more of:an unmanned aerial vehicle communication and/or management module 510;an autonomous ground vehicle (or other type of ground vehicle)communication and/or management module 511; a threat detection and/oralert module 512; an imaging and/or monitoring module 513; a weathersensing and/or alert module 514; an environmental sensing and/or alertmodule 515; a traffic monitoring and/or alert module 516; an activitysensing and/or alert module 517; a disturbance sensing and/or alertmodule 518; a weapon sensing and/or alert module 519; a terror sensingand/or alert module 520; an earthquake movement sensing and/or alertmodule 521; a smoke and/or fire sensing and/or alert module 522; a civilunrest and/or riot detection and/or alert module 523; a natural disastersensing and/or alert module 524; an accident sensing and/or alert module525; a communications module 526; a roadway construction monitoringmodule 527; a building and/or structure construction monitoring module528; an impaired driver monitoring and/or alert module 529; anintersection violation monitoring and/or alert module 530; a shotidentification and/or suspect monitoring module 531; a communicationsrepeater module 532; a wireless internet provision module 533; a vehicleinformation logging module 534; a parking monitor module 535; anon-request monitoring module 536; an unmanned aerial vehicle rechargemodule 537; a military and/or port security module 538; a pipelineintegrity module 539; an air pollution module 540; and an unmannedaerial vehicle detection and/or security module 541.

The application specific module of the application module may includeonly one module of the particular modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515,516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529,530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541. Theapplication specific module may include any two, three, four, five, six,seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen,sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two,twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven,twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, or thirty-two modules ofthe particular modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519,520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533,534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541. In general, any appropriatecombination of the individual modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516,517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530,531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541, or subsets ofthe modules, may be used.

Each of the particular modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517,518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531,532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541 may includeappropriate sensors and components to perform the associatedfunctionality for that particular module. For example, each of themodules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522,523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536,537, 538, 539, 540, and 541 may include one or more cameras, one or moremicrophones, one or more activity or motion sensors, one or more gas orparticle sensors, one or more environmental or weather sensors, one ormore radar detectors, one or more lidar detectors, one or morecommunications receivers or other communications sensors that detecttransmissions, and/or other appropriate sensors or components. Each ofthe particular modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519,520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533,534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541 may include additionalcommunications components, if appropriate. Each of the particularmodules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522,523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536,537, 538, 539, 540, and 541 may include additional processing componentsand/or one or more data stores, if appropriate.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)management module. The UAV management module 510 may be configured torespond to the occurrence of one or more events 600. The events mayoccur in response to a challenge question posed to a UAV, as describedherein. The events may include a registered UAV passing a challengequestion 601 or an unregistered UAV failing a challenge question 602.The events may be wholly or partially detected by one or more sensors610. The sensors may include one or more radar sensors 611, one or morelidar sensors 612, and/or one or more navigation beacons 613. Thesensors may register one or more measurements which may be passed to asensor hub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the results of the one ormore measurements to a base station 202 via one or more communicationschannels. The sensor hub may be powered by the base station. Forinstance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12V digital signalfrom the base station. The base station and/or sensor hub may be poweredby alternative power sources, including power sources located in groundvehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks and stepped-down AC forcommercial-retail, industrial, and residential buildings, such as 120V,240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, and commercial purposes. TheUAV management module may produce one or more outputs 630 in response tothe sensed events. The base station may communicate the outputs to amesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or a server orsoftware element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, and server orsoftware element may be configured to communicate with one anotherthrough one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element may sendand/or receive communications from a library 642 of registered UAVprofiles, as described herein. For instance, the server or softwareelement may query the library of registered UAV profiles to determinewhether a UAV detected by the UAV management module has been registeredwith the library. The library may then send a response to the server orsoftware element regarding whether the UAV is registered in the library.The server or software element may further send signals to and/orreceive signals from other UAV owners 643, a department of motorvehicles (DMV) 644, a police department 645, a fire department 646,and/or emergency medical technicians (EMT) 647. The sensor hub may senda signal to operate a streetlight 650, as described herein.

The UAV management module 510 may provide a variety of functionalitypertaining to unmanned aerial vehicles, such as any of the functionalityprovided by the communications stations described herein or in U.S. Pat.No. 9,087,451 to John A. Jarrell, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. TheUAV management module 510 may use the precise location identifierassociated with the base station or the one or more other preciselocation identifiers in communicating with unmanned aerial vehicles, andmay communicate one or more of the precise location identifiers to anunmanned aerial vehicle.

Communicating with unmanned aerial vehicles from one or more distributedlocations proximate typical flying paths of unmanned aerial vehicles mayprovide advantages. Also, providing one or more precise locationidentifiers may provide benefits. For example, some problems that may becaused by inaccuracy, unavailability, shadowing or spoofing of GPSsignals may be reduced, minimized, or eliminated by providing unmannedaerial vehicles with interactive communication from fixed points nearthe ground, or near to unmanned aerial vehicle traffic routes.

The UAV management module may be equipped with one or more speakers thatmay emit a sound, such as an audible or ultrasonic sound that can bedetected by an unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle maydetect the sound and hover in close proximity to the application modulebased on the sound. The UAV may use the precise location identifier tocalibrate its navigation system, for example. The application module mayinclude a distinctive visual identifier that the UAV may detect (such aswith a camera of the UAV) and the UAV may hover in close proximity tothe application module. The UAV may use the precise location identifier(which may be stored at the application module) to calibrate itsnavigation system or determine its current location, for example. Asanother example, one or more landing areas may include a speaker thatemits a sound or a visual identifier, either of which may be detectableby a UAV so that the UAV may hover or land close to the area, and theapplication module (or the base station) may communicate the preciselocation identifier associated with the landing area to the UAV so thatit may calibrate its navigation system. The application module or thelanding area may increase (or decrease) a volume or a pitch of the soundemitted as a UAV gets closer to it (such as based on a determination ofthe UAV moving closer based on one or more camera images or videos ormicrophone audio captures) as a way of indicating to the UAV it ismoving closer. The sound may be changed (for instance, pulsed) toindicate that the UAV is sufficiently close.

The UAV management module may provide precise aerial locations (forinstance, accurate to within 1 foot, 6 inches, 3 inches, or 1 inch) thatmay correspond to checkpoints past which an unmanned aerial vehicle mayfly. This information may be useful to the unmanned aerial vehicle for avariety of purposes. The precise location identifier or the one or moreprecise location identifiers may be stored for example in the data storeof the base station and may be communicated to one or more of anunmanned aerial vehicle or unmanned aerial system. This may assist theunmanned aerial vehicle or unmanned aerial system.

Because one or more UAV management modules may be attached to basestations on streetlights across a neighborhood, city, metropolitan area,state, or country, a seamless grid of interactive stations may beprovided for the navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles. A UAVmanagement module (or the base station) may include precise locationidentifiers corresponding to other locations, such as one or moretakeoff or landing areas, and these may be communicated to an unmannedaerial vehicle. Because GPS technology, which may only be accurate towithin about ten meters, may be inadequate for some applications such asprecise landing or takeoff areas, the application modules mayadvantageously provide such information to an unmanned aerial vehicle.

The UAV management module (or the base station) may communicate one ormore precise location identifiers (such as one or more locationidentifiers) to an unmanned aerial vehicle, where the precise locationidentifier includes longitude information, latitude information, and/orelevation information. The precise location identifier may have beendetermined by a surveying operation (such as a laser survey). The UAVmanagement module (or the base station) may communicate a narrativedescription (such as a location like 12^(th) and Main) that is generallydescriptive of a location of the UAV management module or base station,or the support member (such as a streetlight, cell tower, traffic light,or another of the support members discussed herein) to which the basestation (and UAV management module) is attached. The narrativedescription may be useful to a human (for instance, a reading from asmartphone). In some cases, only the one or more precise locationidentifiers may be transmitted, without transmitting the narrativedescription. The transmission from the UAV application module (or thebase station) may be encrypted, and the transmission may be broadcast atperiodic intervals. In some cases, only entities that have subscribed toa service may be provided with information that permits a communicationdevice associated with the entity to decrypt the broadcast encryptionand use the information. In this manner, the UAV management module (orthe base station) may provide information that may be available for useonly by those entities that have subscribed to the information service.For instance, the information may be used by unmanned aerial vehicles,unmanned aerial systems, autonomous ground vehicles, unmanned groundvehicles, communications devices (such as a smart phone or smartwearable device), and/or other devices. As described herein, theprecision of the location may be a function of the price paid by a userfor a subscription service, with greater precision costing more thanlower precision.

The UAV application module may determine unmanned aerial vehiclelocation based on communications with the unmanned aerial vehicle. Oneor more sensors may be used to detect unmanned aerial vehicles. Forexample, one or more cameras, one or more microphones, one or more radardetectors, one or more lidar detectors, one or more communicationssensing detectors or sensors (for instance, to detect communications ortransmissions on a data channel or video channel), or one or more othersensors may be used to detect a presence of an unmanned aerial vehicle.One, two, three, four, or more directions of radar or lidar may be usedto observe or detect an unmanned aerial vehicle. The UAV managementmodule may include one or more cameras, radar detectors, or lidardetectors (and optionally other components or circuitry) that maydetect, and in some cases identify, unmanned aerial vehicles. The one ormore cameras, radar detectors or lidar detectors may be oriented to scanareas above the ground where unmanned aerial vehicles may be flying, sothat a narrowed focus area may be monitored. The application module'sposition atop a support member (such as a streetlight) may provide anadvantageous location for such monitoring, as it may be possible toavoid monitoring ground-based activity. The UAV management module mayinclude one or more microphones (and optionally other components orcircuitry) that may detect, and in some cases identify, unmanned aerialvehicles based on characteristic sounds that particular unmanned aerialvehicles make when flying. In some cases, a plurality of UAV managementmodules may report information on location of unmanned aerial vehiclesto a control center, and the control center may aggregate theinformation to provide citywide information or area-wide information onall currently airborne unmanned aerial vehicles in the city or area, forexample. This may be helpful in that it may provide information even inthe absence of unmanned aerial vehicles self-identifying, which may bebeneficial in identifying rogue drones or drones attempting to carry outa nefarious purpose. This may be useful in identifying and trackingrogue drones or terror drones that may not be following establishedflight protocols or self-identifying, or in some cases may not beemitting any type of wireless communication signals.

One or more cameras within the application module may capture video ofan unmanned aerial vehicle in flight. Based on the captured video of theunmanned aerial vehicle, the UAV management module may determine flighttrajectory or path information, such as positional information relatedto flight trajectory or path of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Softwarerunning on the UAV management module may determine, based on the video,information related to the flight trajectory or flight path of theunmanned aerial vehicle. For example, the UAV management module maydetermine that the unmanned aerial vehicle flew outside of a designatedarea within which the unmanned aerial vehicle was restricted to flywithin. For instance, the UAV management module may determine that theUAV deviated in a lateral direction (such as to the left or right of thedesignated area) or in a vertical direction (such as above or below thedesignated area) or both). The UAV management module may determine alocation at which the unmanned aerial vehicle departed from thedesignated area. The UAV management module may determine a maximumdistance that the unmanned aerial vehicle departed from the designatedarea (such as a maximum lateral distance or a maximum vertical distancethat the unmanned aerial vehicle departed from the designated area). TheUAV management module may determine an amount of time that the unmannedaerial vehicle was outside of the designated area.

The UAV management module may identify or recognize the unmanned aerialvehicle in the video. The UAV management module may determine positionalinformation for the unmanned aerial vehicle relative to a surroundingenvironment based on the video, and in some cases based on predeterminedinformation regarding the surrounding environment (such as apredetermined boundary information, predetermined designated areainformation, predetermined landmark or target information). For example,positional information may be determined for the unmanned aerial vehiclerelative to one or more of a designated area (such as a designated flyzone, air corridor, airspace, or the like), relative to one or morestationary objects or entities (such as a building, structure, landmark,target, vehicle, zone, area, pedestrian), or relative to one or moremoving objects or entities (such as another unmanned aerial vehicle orother type of vehicle, pedestrian, animal). As the unmanned aerialvehicle moves along its flight path, the UAV management module maycontinuously track the unmanned aerial vehicle and may continuouslydetermine positional information for the unmanned aerial vehiclerelative to the surrounding environment. The information may be storedin one or more memory locations within the UAV management module.

The UAV management module (or an associated base station) may transmit amessage that includes the determined information. For example, the UAVmanagement module may transmit a message for receipt by the unmannedaerial vehicle. The message may include information determined based onthe video, such as that the unmanned aerial vehicle has departed from adesignated area, has entered a prohibited area, or that the unmannedaerial vehicle is within a predetermined distance of a boundary. Themessage may include a command to make a flight adjustment, such as acommand to return to the designated area or to land in an appropriatearea or to take an appropriate action. The message may include anindication of a fine or penalty. For example, the UAV management module(or an associated base station) may transmit a message for receipt byone or more remote entities such as control centers, municipalauthorities, police departments, fire departments, first responders,vehicles (air or ground-based), other base stations or applicationmodules, other communications devices, and the like. The message mayinclude information determined based on the video, such as that theunmanned aerial vehicle has departed from a designated area, has entereda prohibited area, or that the unmanned aerial vehicle is within apredetermined distance of a boundary.

The UAV management module may monitor, based on the video orcommunications with the unmanned aerial vehicle or determined by one ormore other sensors of the UAV management module, for one or more eventsrelated to the unmanned aerial vehicle, such as that the unmanned aerialvehicle has departed from a designated area, has entered a prohibitedarea, is within a predetermined distance of a boundary, or has been in acollision or near-collision (such as with another aerial vehicle, with astructure, with the ground, or with an object, human or animal, or otherentity). If the UAV management module does not detect such an event (orother type of event) within a predetermined period of time, the UAVmanagement module may over-write stored information derived from thevideo with newer information. If, however, the UAV management moduledetects such an event (or other type of event) within the predeterminedperiod of time, the UAV management module (or an associated basestation) may transmit a message that includes the determined informationand may include the video in some examples.

The UAV management module may transmit a video that includes thecaptured video of the unmanned aerial vehicle augmented with one or morevisual indicators determined by the UAV management module. The one ormore visual indicators may include a visual indicator of the flighttrajectory or path of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or one or morestatistics associated with the flight trajectory or path of the unmannedaerial vehicle. As one example, the video may include augmentedinformation that causes a red line (or other appropriate indicator) thatcorresponds to the trajectory of the unmanned aerial vehicle to beincluded when the video is displayed, or one or more statistics orindicators associated with the flight. For instance, the video mayinclude a location at which the unmanned aerial vehicle departed from adesignated area, a maximum distance that the unmanned aerial vehicledeparted from the designated area (such as a maximum lateral distance ora maximum vertical distance that the unmanned aerial vehicle departedfrom the designated area or an amount of time that the unmanned aerialvehicle was outside of the designated area).

In situations where the unmanned aerial vehicle is involved in acollision or near-collision, this information may be beneficial foraccident reconstruction or accident analysis purposes. In situationswhere an operator or owner of an unmanned aerial vehicle denies that theunmanned aerial vehicle departed from a designated area (or deniesculpability for same), this information may be beneficial for settlingdisagreements or providing evidence of the unmanned aerial vehicle'sactions.

The UAV management module may check a license or registration number foran unmanned aerial vehicle, and determine whether the license orregistration number is valid. The UAV management module may perform anyof the features discussed herein regarding license or registrationchecking and notifying. The UAV management module may receive a messagefrom an unmanned aerial vehicle, from an unmanned aerial system, from adrone, or from an unmanned aircraft, where the message includes one ormore of an ownership number, a make, a model, a type, a year, a serialnumber, an authorized use, an owner, a registration number, a licensenumber, an authorized pilot in command, and a category. The messagereceived by the UAV management module may be encrypted, and the UAVmanagement module may decrypt the message and interprets theinformation; in some cases, the received message is not encrypted. TheUAV management module may use the information in the received message todetermine whether the unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned aerial system,drone, or unmanned aircraft is authorized to be flying, or in some casesis authorized to be flying in a particular area. If the UAV managementmodule determines that the unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned aerialsystem, drone, or unmanned aircraft is not authorized, the UAVmanagement module (or the base station) may transmit a message forreceipt by or more of the vehicle, an appropriate authority (such as thepolice, FAA, or a municipal authority), a central command center, or toan owner of the vehicle. The message may include a flight adjustmentthat the vehicle should make, such as a command to land (for instance,in a landing zone) or return to a known location. In situations wherethe UAV management module detects a vehicle, but where the vehicle isnot broadcasting its information or is not responding to requests forthe information, the UAV management module may suspect that the vehicleis unauthorized, and may transmit a message for receipt by one or moreof the vehicle, an appropriate authority (such as the police, FAA, or amunicipal authority), a central command center, or to an owner of thevehicle. The message may include a flight adjustment that the vehicleshould make, such as a command to land (for instance, in a landing zone)or return to a known location. The message may take any appropriateform, such as an electronic message, an SMS message, a phone call, anelectronic mail message, a message via an app, or other appropriatemessage. Unauthorized, foreign, or rogue vehicles may be identified andtracked using the techniques described herein. An authorized vehiclethat may have gotten lost or is off-course may be identified and trackedusing the techniques described herein.

The UAV management module (or any of the communication stationsdescribed herein below, or the base station) may include one or morecameras that can be used to provide direct line of sight from the pilotor operator to the unmanned aerial vehicle or unmanned aerial system viathe UAV management module (or communication station or base station).The UAV management module may transmit real-time video from the one ormore cameras for receipt by a communications device used by the pilot oroperator, so that the pilot may view the real-time video and operate theunmanned aerial vehicle or unmanned aerial system. The UAV managementmodule (or communication station or base station) may include fourcameras, the four cameras generally oriented at about 90 degree angleswith respect to the adjacent camera, for 360-degree coverage over analtitude range (or portion thereof) that UAVs are expected to fly. TheUAV management module (or communication station or base station) mayinclude five cameras, the first four cameras generally oriented at about90 degree angles with respect to the adjacent camera, for 360-degreecoverage, and the fifth camera oriented generally upward. The UAVmanagement module (or communication station or base station) may includea smaller number of cameras (such as one, two, or three cameras). Thesmaller number of cameras may be configured to provide focused coverageanywhere between 0 and 360 degrees, and also complete 360-degreecoverage over an altitude range (or portion thereof) that UAVs areexpected to fly.

The UAV management module (or communication station or base station) maytransmit a video from a first camera of the module for receipt by acommunications device used by the pilot or operator. As the unmannedaerial vehicle passes from the field of view of the first camera to afield of view of a second camera of the module, the UAV managementmodule may halt transmission of the video from the first camera and maytransmit video from the second camera of the UAV management module forreceipt by a communications device used by the pilot or operator. Inthis manner, the UAV management module may transmit an appropriate videoso that the pilot or operator maintains a view of the unmanned aerialvehicle at all times.

The UAV management module (or communication station or base station) maycommunicate with one or more other UAV management modules (orcommunication stations or base stations) and may coordinate a “handoff”of UAV video provision. For example, as a UAV flies between a first UAVmanagement module and a second UAV management module, the first UAVmanagement module may determine (for instance, based on one or more of aflight path of the UAV, a current location of the UAV, an expectedfuture location of the UAV, and known locations of other UAV managementmodules or communications stations or base stations) that the second UAVmanagement module should begin transmitting video of the UAV for receiptby the communications device of the pilot or operator. This may occur,for example, when the UAV reaches a halfway point between the first UAVmanagement module and the second UAV management module.

While the above description regarding one or more cameras andtransmitting video of a vehicle has been described with respect to theUAV management module 510 and unmanned aerial vehicles or unmannedaerial systems, it will be understood that any of the modules 510, 511,512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525,526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539,540, and 541 discussed herein may be configured to include thisfunctionality. Also, any of the modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515,516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529,530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541,communication stations, or base stations discussed herein can includeone or more cameras and configured to provide similar functionality forpilots, operators, or management systems of ground-based vehicles orhybrid ground/air vehicles. For example, the cameras may provide viewsof ground-based traffic routes and handoffs between modules regardingproviding continuous video visibility of the vehicle may similarly beprovided.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example autonomous ground vehiclemanagement module. The autonomous ground vehicle management module 511may be configured to respond to the occurrence of one or more events600. The events may occur in response to a challenge question posed toan autonomous ground vehicle, as described herein. The events mayinclude a registered autonomous ground vehicle passing a challengequestion 701 or an unregistered autonomous ground vehicle failing achallenge question 702. The events may be wholly or partially detectedby one or more sensors 610. The sensors may include one or more radarsensors 611, one or more lidar sensors 612, and/or one or morenavigation beacons 613. The sensors may register one or moremeasurements which may be passed to a sensor hub 620. The sensor hub maycommunicate the results of the one or more measurements to a basestation 202 via one or more communications channels. The sensor hub maybe powered by the base station. For instance, the sensor hub may bepowered by a 5V or 12V digital signal from the base station. The basestation and/or sensor hub may be powered by alternative power sources,including power sources located in ground vehicles such as 12V for carsand trucks and stepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, andresidential buildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses,jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The autonomous ground vehicle management module may produce one or moreoutputs 630 in response to the sensed events. The base station maycommunicate the outputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud633, and/or a server or software element 640. The mesh, cellularnetwork, cloud, and server or software element may be configured tocommunicate with one another through one or more communicationschannels, such as one or more wireless communications channels. Theserver or software element may receive a 3rd party alert 641. The serveror software element may send and/or receive communications from alibrary 741 of registered autonomous ground vehicle profiles, asdescribed herein. For instance, the server or software element may querythe library of registered autonomous ground vehicle profiles todetermine whether an autonomous ground vehicle detected by theautonomous ground vehicle management module has been registered with thelibrary, as described herein. The library may then send a response tothe server or software element regarding whether the autonomous groundvehicle is registered in the library, as described herein. The server orsoftware element may further send signals to and/or receive signals fromother autonomous ground vehicle owners 742, a department of motorvehicles (DMV) 644, a police department 645, a fire department 646,and/or emergency medical technicians (EMT) 647. The sensor hub may senda signal to operate a streetlight 650, as described herein.

The autonomous ground vehicle management module 511 may providecommunications and information, including any of the informationdescribed herein with reference to the UAV management module 510, toautonomous ground-based vehicles, driverless ground-based vehicles,self-driving vehicles, connected vehicles, or other ground-basedvehicles. The examples discussed herein will assume autonomous vehicles.For example, the autonomous ground vehicle management module 511 may usethe precise location identifier associated with the base station or theone or more other precise location identifiers (such as preciselocations along or on a road on which a ground-based vehicle may betravelling) in communicating with ground-based vehicles. The autonomousground vehicle management module may communicate the precise locationidentifiers to a ground-based vehicle. Communicating with ground-basedvehicles from one or more distributed locations proximate typicaltraffic routes of ground-based vehicles may provide advantages. Also,providing one or more precise location identifiers may provide benefits.For example, some problems that may be caused by inaccuracy,unavailability, shadowing or spoofing of GPS signals may be reduced,minimized, or eliminated by providing ground-based vehicles withinteractive communication from fixed points at or near the ground. Theground-based vehicles may use the information in a manner analogous tothe information used by UAVs described herein. The autonomous groundvehicle management may provide precise ground-based locations (forinstance, accurate to within 1 foot, 6 inches, 3 inches, or 1 inch) thatmay correspond to checkpoints past which or over which a ground-basedvehicle may drive. This information may be useful to the ground-basedvehicle for a variety of purposes, such as to recalibrate its navigationsystem or to establish its present location. The one or more preciselocation identifiers, which can be stored for example in the data storeof the base station, may be communicated to one or more of an unmannedaerial vehicle or unmanned aerial system, and may be communicated to anunmanned ground vehicle system. This may assist the unmanned aerialvehicle, unmanned aerial system, or unmanned ground vehicle system.

The autonomous ground vehicle management module may determine autonomousground vehicle location based on communications with the autonomousground vehicle. One or more sensors may be used to detect autonomousground vehicles. For example, one or more cameras, one or moremicrophones, one or more radar detectors, one or more lidar detectors,one or more communications sensing detectors or sensors (for instance,to detect communications or transmissions on a data channel or videochannel), or one or more other sensors may be used to detect a presenceof an autonomous ground vehicle. One, two, three, four, or moredirections of radar or lidar may be used to observe or detect anautonomous ground vehicle. The autonomous ground vehicle managementmodule may include one or more cameras, radar detectors, or lidardetectors (and optionally other components or circuitry) that maydetect, and in some cases identify, autonomous ground vehicles. The oneor more cameras, radar detectors or lidar detectors may be oriented toscan areas on or near the ground where ground-based vehicles may betravelling, so that a narrowed focus area may be monitored. Theautonomous ground vehicle management module's position atop a supportmember (such as a streetlight) may provide an advantageous location forsuch monitoring, as it may provide a convenient perch for surveyingactivity. The autonomous ground vehicle management module may includeone or more microphones (and optionally other components or circuitry)that may detect, and in some cases identify, autonomous ground vehiclesbased on characteristic sounds that particular autonomous groundvehicles makes when moving. A plurality of autonomous ground vehiclemanagement modules may report information on location of autonomousground vehicles to a control center, and the control center mayaggregate the information to provide citywide information or area-wideinformation on all currently operating autonomous ground vehicles in thecity or area. This may be helpful in that it may provide informationeven in the absence of autonomous ground vehicles self-identifying,which may be beneficial in identifying rogue vehicles or vehiclesattempting to carry out a nefarious purpose. This may be useful inidentifying and tracking rogue vehicles or terror vehicles that may notbe following established protocols or self-identifying, or in some casesmay not be emitting any type of wireless communication signals.

The autonomous ground vehicle management module (or the base station)may communicate one or more precise location identifiers (such as one ormore precise location identifiers) to an autonomous ground vehicle orunmanned ground vehicle. The precise location identifier may includelongitude information, latitude information, and/or elevationinformation. The precise location identifier may have been determined bya surveying operation (such as a laser survey). The autonomous groundvehicle management module (or the base station) may communicate anarrative description (for instance, 12^(th) and Main) that is generallydescriptive of a location of the autonomous ground vehicle managementmodule or base station, or the support member (such as a streetlight) towhich the base station (and autonomous ground vehicle management module,if applicable) is attached. In some cases, only the one or more preciselocation identifiers are transmitted, without transmitting the narrativedescription. The transmission from the autonomous ground vehiclemanagement module (or the base station) may be encrypted, and thetransmission may be broadcast at periodic intervals. In some cases, onlyentities that have subscribed to a service may be provided withinformation that permits a communication device associated with theentity to decrypt the broadcast encryption and use the information. Inthis manner, the autonomous ground vehicle management module (or thebase station) may provide information that may be available for use onlyby those entities that have subscribed to the information service. Forinstance, the information may be available for use only by unmannedaerial vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, autonomous ground vehicles,unmanned ground vehicles, communications devices (such as a smart phoneor a smart wearable device), and/or other devices.

The autonomous ground vehicle management module may perform, withreference to ground-based vehicles, any of the features discussed hereinregarding license or registration checking and notifying as they pertainto UAVs. The autonomous ground vehicle management module may receive amessage from an autonomous ground vehicle, where the message includesone or more of an ownership number, a make, a model, a type, a year, aserial number, an authorized use, an owner, a registration number, alicense number, an authorized controller in command, and a category. Themessage received by the autonomous ground vehicle management module maybe encrypted. The autonomous ground vehicle management module maydecrypt the message and interpret the information. In some cases, thereceived message is not encrypted. The autonomous ground vehiclemanagement module may use the information in the received message todetermine whether the autonomous ground vehicle is authorized to be inuse, or is authorized to be in use in a particular area. If theautonomous ground vehicle management module determines that theautonomous ground vehicle is not authorized, the autonomous groundvehicle management module (or the base station) may transmit a messagefor receipt by or more of the vehicle, an appropriate authority (such asthe police or a municipal authority), a central command center, or to anowner of the vehicle. The message may include a navigation adjustmentthat the vehicle should make, such as a command to stop or park (forinstance, in a parking zone or appropriate area) or return to a knownlocation. In this manner, unauthorized, foreign, or rogue vehicles maybe identified and tracked. In situations where the autonomous groundvehicle management module detects a vehicle, but where the vehicle isnot broadcasting its information or is not responding to requests forthe information, the autonomous ground vehicle management module maysuspect that the vehicle is unauthorized, and may transmit a message forreceipt by one or more of the vehicle, an appropriate authority (such asthe police or a municipal authority), a central command center, or to anowner of the vehicle. The message may include a navigation adjustmentthat the vehicle should make, such as a command to stop or park (forinstance, in a parking zone or appropriate area) or return to a knownlocation. The message may take any appropriate form, such as anelectronic message, an SMS message, a phone call, an electronic mailmessage, a message via an app, or other appropriate message.Unauthorized, foreign, or rogue vehicles may be identified and trackedusing the techniques described herein. An authorized vehicle that mayhave gotten lost or is off-course may be identified and tracked usingthe techniques described herein.

One or more cameras of the autonomous ground vehicle management modulemay capture video of a ground-based vehicle in motion. Based on thecaptured video of the ground-based vehicle, the autonomous groundvehicle management module may determine trajectory or path information,such as positional information related to trajectory or path of theground-based vehicle. The autonomous ground vehicle management modulemay transmit a message that includes information, a video, or anaugmented video in a manner similar to that described herein withreference to the UAV management module 510.

The threat detection and/or alert module 512 may include one or moresensors and associated components/circuitry to provide functionalitysuch as any of the functionality provided by the lighting assembliesdescribed in any of U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,502,456, 8,716,942, and 8,963,433to John A. Jarrell and Robert C. Hendrickson, the entire contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties for allpurposes. The threat detection and/or alert module may be used to detectignited gunpowder, explosives, gunshots, or other physical threats. Suchdetection may be useful at airports, military installations, ports,hospitals, schools, universities, banks, iconic structures orinstitutions, and/or other large-scale operations where there is athreat of intrusion, sabotage, shootings or other terrorist activities,or common street crime. Upon detection of any of the foregoing, thethreat detection and/or alert module (or the base station) may send awireless message to alert of the danger.

The imaging and/or monitoring module 513 may, in some examples, includeone or more sensors (such as one or more cameras) and associatedcomponents/circuitry to collect images or videos. A location atop astreetlight or other support member may provide an advantageous locationfor monitoring and rapid assessments. For instance, informationcollected may be used for time-lapse photography and archiving ofcityscapes and social history.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example weather module. The weathermodule 514 may be configured to respond to the occurrence of one or moreevents 600. The events may correspond to a measurement of temperature801, pressure 802, and/or wind 803, as described herein. The events maybe wholly or partially detected by one or more sensors 610. The sensorsmay include one or dew point sensors 811, one or more pressure sensors812, and/or one or more wind sensors 813. The sensors may register oneor more measurements which may be passed to a sensor hub 620. The sensorhub may communicate the results of the one or more measurements to abase station 202 via one or more communications channels. The sensor hubmay be powered by the base station. For instance, the sensor hub may bepowered by a 5V or 12V digital signal from the base station. The basestation and/or sensor hub may be powered by alternative power sources,including power sources located in ground vehicles such as 12V for carsand trucks and stepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, andresidential buildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses,jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The weather module may produce one or more outputs 630 in response tothe sensed events. The base station may communicate the outputs to amesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or a server orsoftware element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, and server orsoftware element may be configured to communicate with one anotherthrough one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element may sendsignals to and/or receive signals from the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA) 841, United States Geologic Service (USGS) 842, one ormore state geological agencies 843, a police department 645, a firedepartment 646, and/or emergency medical technicians (EMT) 647. Thesensor hub may send a signal to operate a streetlight 650, as describedherein.

Weather events may also be detected by a third party entity. As anexample, the modular system may respond to a 3rd party alert of aweather event or provide an output in response to the alert by providinga visual or audio indication, by sending a communication to orcommunication with one or more outside entities, or by providing forcontrol and management of streetlights. Such a response may indicate thetype of weather event. For example, in response to a 3rd party alert,signal, or other communication, the modular system may provide ablinking light or a siren to activate, or may instruct a streetlight ornearby streetlights to increase light intensity or to provide a patternof varying light intensity. The response may be different depending onthe weather event identified by the third party entity and different 3rdparty alerts may be used depending on the identified weather event. Forexample, a different blinking light pattern or siren signal may be usedto indicate an earthquake, a storm, a tornado, a hurricane, a typhoon, atsunami or other weather event versus smoke, fire, suspicious activity,a disturbance, an intrusion, or some other threat or emergency.

The weather sensing and/or alert module 514 may include one or moresensors and associated components/circuitry to provide a weather stationthat may be used to track and/or communicate information regardingweather in a vicinity of the application module. The weather sensingand/or alert module may include one or more wind sensors, precipitationsensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors (such as barometricpressure, absolute pressure, and/or relative pressure), humiditysensors, and/or other sensors can be included to provide wind data (suchas speed, direction, gust information, and/or rapid change information),temperature data, precipitation data (such as dewpoint), pressure data,and humidity data, for example for outdoor activities, sportscompetitions (such as baseball, tennis, soccer, and/or other sports),cultural activities, warning of impending rain, wind or lightening,and/or creating a data base of the microclimate and variation ofspecific venues in the environment. The uniform and fixed elevationabove ground of most streetlights may provide a uniform grid at anelevation that may make overall assessment more meaningful. The use ofdewpoint and temperature within the weather module as well as otheronboard sensors may allow for the prediction of fog, hail, tornado andsimilar driving threats (such as by referencing temperature and dewpointweather tables). When coupled with other application modules, cameraunits, and other sensors (such as particulates sensors and infraredsensors), as well as with other weather modules located at differentlocations, the weather module and associated base station and networkmay allow for the creation of a fog, hail, or tornado (or otherinclement weather) warning system, either locally and/or through use ofthe network. Local modules or the network may alert the local roadauthorities, police, radio, and/or news outlets of impending or currentfog, hail, or tornado (or other inclement weather) conditions. Further,the local or cloud based network may flash individual or multiplestreetlights to warn of existing or upcoming fog banks or otherinclement localized weather events, allowing motorists to avoid findingthemselves suddenly encircled in fog or other inclement weather whiletraveling at a high rate of speed. This may assist drivers or UAVs inavoiding or mitigating individual or multi-vehicle accidents.

The environmental sensing and/or alert module 515 may include one ormore sensors (such as one or more hazardous liquid and/or gas sensors,particle sensors, and/or domestic water or sanitary sewer effluentsensors) and associated components/circuitry to detect the presence ofparticular liquids, gases, or particles in the air. The environmentalsensing and/or alert module may send an alert regarding the detection.Examples of gases or particles that may be detected include methane, O₃,SO₂, CO, anhydrous ammonia, and/or other chemicals. Detection may helpregulators keep track of emissions from automobiles, local power plants,refineries, sewage treatment facilities, and factories, to list fewexamples. The environmental sensing and/or alert module may be used, forexample, in the vicinity of a liquid or gas pipeline, and one or moresensors of the environmental sensing and/or alert module may detectgases or particles indicative of a leak or rupture in the pipeline sothat an alert may be immediately issued. The environmental sensingand/or alert module may also include one or more microphones that may beused to monitor or track noise levels from various activities, includingunmanned aerial vehicles or other aircraft, and/or ground vehicletraffic. The traffic module may use the sensors and processes in themanner described herein to provide weather data in the evaluation andmanagement of traffic in the vicinity of the traffic module.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example traffic module. The trafficmodule 516 may be configured to respond to the occurrence of one or moreevents 600. The events may include a UAV or automobile range or speedmeasurement 901. The events may be wholly or partially detected by oneor more sensors 610. The sensors may include one or more magnetometers911, one or more radar sensors 611, one or more lidar sensors 612,and/or one or more navigation beacons 613. The sensors may register oneor more measurements which may be passed to a sensor hub 620. The sensorhub may communicate the results of the one or more measurements to abase station 202 via one or more communications channels. The sensor hubmay be powered by the base station. For instance, the sensor hub may bepowered by a 5V or 12V digital signal from the base station. The basestation and/or sensor hub may be powered by alternative power sources,including power sources located in ground vehicles such as 12V for carsand trucks and stepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, andresidential buildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses,jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The traffic module may produce one or more outputs 630 in response tothe sensed events. The base station may communicate the outputs to amesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or a server orsoftware element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, and server orsoftware element may be configured to communicate with one anotherthrough one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element may sendand/or receive communications from a library 642 of registered UAVprofiles, as described herein. For instance, the server or softwareelement may query the library of registered UAV profiles to determinewhether a UAV detected by the UAV management module has been registeredwith the library, as described herein. The library may then send aresponse to the server or software element regarding whether the UAV isregistered in the library, as described herein. The server or softwareelement may further send signals to and/or receive signals from a policedepartment 645 and/or a city 941. The sensor hub may send a signal tooperate a streetlight 650 or traffic lights 950, as described herein.

The traffic monitoring and/or alert module 516 may include one or moresensors (such as one or more cameras, microphones, motion detectors,radar, lidar, and/or one or more magnetic and/or other sensors) andassociated components/circuitry to detect automobiles using magnetic orvisual tracking technology. The traffic monitoring and/or alert modulemay alert traffic planners and police of current situations andaccumulate detailed data of traffic flows for future planning efforts.

The activity sensing and/or alert module 517 may include one or moresensors (such as one or more cameras, motion detectors, radar, lidar,and/or other sensors) and associated components/circuitry to senseactivity and provide functionality, such as any of the functionalityprovided by the lighting assemblies described in any of U.S. Pat. Nos.8,502,456, 8,716,942, and 8,963,433 to John A. Jarrell and Robert C.Hendrickson, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties for all purposes. The activity sensingand/or alert module may be used to trigger the luminaire of thestreetlight to brighten or dim with the level of activity. It may alsoreport suspicious or prohibited activity at or near an installedlocation, such as suspicious or prohibited nighttime activity at or nearschool buildings or sports facilities.

The disturbance sensing and/or alert module 518 may include one or moresensors (such as one or more cameras, audio sensors, radar, lidar,and/or other sensors) and associated components/circuitry to detectspecific types of sounds or sound levels that indicate a fight, argumentor other disturbance, or video or still picture images that may indicatesame, and send a message to trigger intervention or inquiry by police orlocal building security. The disturbance sensing and/or alert module mayprovide functionality such as any of the functionality provided by thelighting assemblies described in any of U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,502,456,8,716,942, and 8,963,433 to John A. Jarrell and Robert C. Hendrickson,the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties for all purposes.

The activity sensing and/or alert module 517 and disturbance sensingand/or alert module 518 can each be used alone or in combination tomonitor activity and disturbances for security purposes in high riskareas such as construction or building sites, and in areas requiringmonitoring for a specific purpose, such as border patrol and forhomeland security.

Suspicious activity and disturbances may also be detected by a thirdparty entity such as a private security company or other company thatmay have a security system deployed in a location such as a residence,industrial building, construction site, or other building structure orsite. As an example, a security company may provide a 3rd party alert,signal, or other communication to alert an area that suspicious activityor a disturbance has been detected in a location or a nearby location.The modular system may respond to the alert or provide an output inresponse to the alert by providing a visual or audio indication, bysending a communication to or communication with one or more outsideentities, or by providing for control and management of streetlights.Such a response may indicate the location of the suspicious activity,disturbance, threat, or emergency. For example, in response to a 3rdparty alert, signal, or other communication, the modular system mayprovide a blinking light or a siren to activate, or may instruct astreetlight or nearby streetlights to increase light intensity or toprovide a pattern of varying light intensity. The response may bedifferent depending on the suspicious activity, disturbance, threat, oremergency identified by the third party entity and different 3rd partyalerts may be used depending on the identified activity, disturbance,threat, or emergency. For example, a different blinking light pattern orsiren signal may be used to indicate suspicious activity or adisturbance versus smoke, fire, an earthquake, a storm, or some otherevent or emergency.

Issues of homeland security may also be addressed by the weapon sensingand/or alert module 519, which may include one or more sensors (such asone or more cameras, audio sensors, gas or particle sensors, and/orother sensors) and associated components/circuitry for detectingweapons. For example, the weapon sensing and/or alert module may detectfirearms, discharge smoke, gunshots, and/or other indicators of theexistence of weapons in areas where they are not allowed or expected.The weapon sensing and/or alert module may detect toxic gases, explosivegases, chemical agents, biological agents, radiation, and/or secondaryeffects of the foregoing threats (such as excessive lead or the productsof radiological decomposition).

The terror sensing and/or alert module 520 may also be used for homelandsecurity applications and can include one or more sensors (such as oneor more cameras, microphones, motion detectors, radar, lidar, and/orother sensors) and associated components/circuitry to sense or detectacts of terror or plots regarding terror acts. For example, theapplication-specific module may include one or more cameras and controlcircuitry configured to detect firearms or other weapons, or suspiciousactivity (such as groups of individuals carrying firearms, oversizedbackpacks, duffel bags, and/or wearing heavy coats when prevailingweather conditions would not warrant such apparel). The terror sensingand/or alert module may detect toxic gases, explosive gases, chemicalagents, biological agents, radiation, and/or secondary effects of theforegoing threats (such as excessive lead or the products ofradiological decomposition).

The earthquake movement sensing and/or alert module 521 may include oneor more sensors and associated components/circuitry to detect earthmovement (such as movement caused by an earthquake). The earthquakemovement sensing and/or alert module may include one or moreaccelerometers. The earthquake movement sensing and/or alert module mayinclude one or more 9-axis directional accelerometers, or otherappropriate sensors configured to sense earth movement. The earthquakemovement sensing and/or alert module may include one or more sensorsthat detect primary waves (P waves) and one or more sensors that candetect secondary waves (S waves). The earthquake movement sensing and/oralert module may distinguish between normal or conventional movement ofthe streetlight or support member (such as movement caused by wind) andearth movement indicative of an earthquake. The earthquake movementsensing and/or alert may use this information to determine preciseground movement. The movement experienced by an accelerometer in aparticular module attached to a streetlight or other fixed structure maynot be exactly the same as ground movement associated with anearthquake. In this case, onboard computational units may utilizestructural analysis, such as the Euler Equations, to calculate theactual ground movement (AGM) based upon the arrangement and materials ofthe streetlight. In addition, the long-term correlation of known windspeeds and streetlight movement, as well as actual data fromstreetlights during actual earthquakes with known ground movements (fromother data sources), may allow the tabulation of precise correlationtables using static and/or dynamic parameters. A seismic detector mayalso include lidar or radar sensor or similar precision distancemeasuring devices that may yield 3-D images and/or precise relativemotions of streetlights, streets, and buildings and/or other data thatmay be useful in measuring earthquake ground movement, buildingmovement, seismic ground speeds, and/or the dynamic relationships amongthese parameters. This may allow rapid assessment of likely earthquakedamage to infrastructure and buildings, as well as assist in predictingthe structural dynamics of public and private infrastructure forimproving structural design models and the development of more effectiveearthquake codes. These modules may allow the monitoring of non-seismiceffects such as subsidence and differential settlement of infrastructureand buildings due to ground movement, dewatering of construction sites,and withdrawal of oil, gas, other minerals, and/or groundwater. Theearthquake movement sensing and/or alert module may detect motion in alongitudinal direction, a latitudinal direction, and/or in a verticaldirection. Such modules may be installed in multiple elevated locationsthroughout a city (such as on streetlights at various locations about acity). For instance, the modules may be installed in more than 10locations, more than 100 locations, or more than 1,000 locationsthroughout the city. Upon detection, the module may provide an immediatealert and assessment of ground motion. This may provide responders witha good idea of the expanse of the earthquake and its relative impacts onliquefaction and impact on foundation soils in the vicinity. Theassessment may be obtained rapidly, as opposed to relying on much slowerand less accurate telephone reports and news helicopter reports. Analert may provide an instantaneous warning to evacuate fire stations,police stations, hospitals and other critical facilities if they aredeemed to have sustained excessive ground motion for their physicalstatus. An immediate assessment may be made for assigning a prioritylevel (for instance, a red tag, yellow tag, or green tag) for rankingpurposes. An extra few minutes, an extra minute, or an extra number ofseconds of warning may be provided using the techniques, devices andsystems described herein, as compared to detection by conventionalmethods. This extra warning time may save lives and may permit extratime to shut down liquid or gas pipelines or other infrastructure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example of a smoke/fire module. Thesmoke/fire module 522 may be configured to respond to the occurrence ofone or more events 600. The events may correspond to a measurement ofwind 803, rain 1001, gas particles 1002, fire 1003, and/or smoke 1004,as described herein. The events may be wholly or partially detected byone or more sensors 610. The sensors may include one or more dew pointsensors 811, one or more pressure sensors 812, one or more wind sensors813, one or more rainfall sensors 1011, and/or one or more gas particlesensor 1012. The sensors may register one or more measurements which maybe passed to a sensor hub 620. The sensor hub may communicate theresults of the one or more measurements to a base station 202 via one ormore communications channels. The sensor hub may be powered by the basestation. For instance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12Vdigital signal from the base station. The base station and/or sensor hubmay be powered by alternative power sources, including power sourceslocated in ground vehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks andstepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, and residentialbuildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, andcommercial purposes.

The smoke/fire module may produce one or more outputs 630 in response tothe sensed events. The base station may communicate the outputs to amesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or a server orsoftware element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, and server orsoftware element may be configured to communicate with one anotherthrough one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element may sendsignals to and/or receive signals from a Department of Fish and Game(DF&G) 1041 and/or to a Department of Agriculture 1042. The sensor hubmay send a signal to operate a streetlight 650, as described herein.

The smoke and/or fire sensing and/or alert module may include one ormore sensors (such as one or more cameras or microphones, one or moregas or particle detectors, heat sensors, and/or infrared detectors) andassociated components/circuitry to detect smoke, fire, and/or extremeheat. Detection of smoke and/or fire may alert local fire and police andhelp assess the extent and spread of widespread fires due to lightningstrikes, wildfires, terrorism and/or arson attacks. When coupled with anetwork of mini-weather stations (such as provided by the weathersensing and/or alert module 514), the emergency response may beimmediately tailored to provide guidance on response. An alert may alsowarn firefighting and EMT personnel of the potential for gusts that maycause firestorms or backdraft events in time for them to take evasiveaction.

Smoke and/or fire may also be detected by a third party entity such as aprivate security company or other company that may have a smoke and/orfire alert system deployed in a location such as a residence, industrialbuilding, construction site, or other building structure or site. As anexample, a security company may provide a 3rd party alert, signal, orother communication to alert an area that smoke and/or fire has beendetected in a location or a nearby location. The modular system mayrespond to the alert or provide an output in response to the alert byproviding a visual or audio indication, by sending a communication to orcommunication with one or more outside entities, or by providing forcontrol and management of streetlights. Such a response may indicate thelocation of the threat or emergency. For example, in response to a 3rdparty alert, signal, or other communication, the modular system mayprovide a blinking light or a siren to activate, or may instruct astreetlight or nearby streetlights to increase light intensity or toprovide a pattern of varying light intensity. The response may bedifferent depending on the threat identified by the third party entityand different 3rd party alerts may be used depending on the identifiedthreat. For example, a different blinking light pattern or siren signalmay be used to indicate smoke or fire versus suspicious activity, adisturbance, an intrusion, an earthquake, a storm, or some other eventor emergency.

The civil unrest and/or riot detection and/or alert module 523 mayinclude one or more sensors (such as one or more cameras or audiosensors, motion detectors, radar, lidar, and/or other sensors) andassociated components/circuitry to detect riots, civil unrest, and/orsuspicious activity. One or more microphones or other sound detectioncomponents, or one or more cameras or other video or image detectioncomponents may be used to detect civil unrest or riots, and provide analert regarding the civil unrest, riot, or suspicious activity. This maygive public officials early warning of a peaceful event becomingdangerous or conflict-ridden. The civil unrest and/or riot detectionand/or alert module may include sensors capable of detecting bricks,heavy sticks, baseball bats, volatile and/or flammable mixtures, and/orother objects that may be indicative of a heightened threat environment.In addition, by using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and/ordata mining techniques to do for example, facial recognition and otherpattern recognition, visual, audio and otherwise, key information may beextracted from data collected by the sensors and other detectioncomponents.

The natural disaster sensing and/or alert module 524 may include one ormore sensors (such as one or more cameras, microphones, wind sensors,pressure sensors, accelerometers, humidity sensors, and/or otherenvironmental sensors) and associated components/circuitry to detectnatural disasters. One or more wind sensors and/or pressure sensors andassociated components/circuitry may be included. The sensors may be usedto provide early warning and immediate assessment of a variety ofnatural disasters, such as tornados, hurricanes, and tsunamis. An extrafew minutes, an extra minute, or an extra number of seconds of warningmay be provided using the techniques, devices and systems describedherein, as compared to detection by conventional methods. This extrawarning time may save lives and may permit extra time to shut downliquid or gas pipelines or other infrastructure which may preventgreater damage or destruction.

The accident sensing and/or alert module 525 may include one or moresensors (such as one or more cameras, audio sensors, motion detectors,radar, lidar, and/or other sensors) and associated components/circuitryto detect accidents. The accident sensing and/or alert module mayinclude include one or more cameras or one or more microphones andcontrol components tuned to specifically detect, locate and/or alert toaccidents relating to automobile (manned or driverless), train (mannedor driverless), aircraft (manned or driverless), or the like, and toprovide immediate alerts and assessments.

The communications module 526 may include one or more sensors (such ascommunications sensors) and associated components/circuitry to detectcommunications signals. A detector of cellular communications signals, adetector of wireless communications signals, or a detector of Wi-Fisignals may be included to detect such signals and provide an alertregarding detection of such signals. Such detectors may sense one ormore of such signals and provide an alert regarding use of cellular orwireless devices. This may be useful, for instance, in areas where useof such devices is prohibited or restricted. For instance, this may beuseful in areas such as prisons, hospitals, at border crossings, and/orat customs-checking locations. The detectors may also be used to detectpotential detonation devices in abandoned backpacks, duffel bags, and/orpackages that are left in public areas. The communications module may beused to provide communications functionality to nearby users. Forexample, the communications module may include a router to provide WiFiconnectivity to nearby users.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example transportation constructionmodule. The transportation construction module 527 may be configured torespond to the occurrence of one or more events 600. The events maycorrespond to a measurement of dew point 801, pressure 802, wind 803,and/or rain 1001, as described herein. The events may be wholly orpartially detected by one or more sensors 610. The sensors may includeone or more dew point sensors 811, one or more pressure sensors 812, oneor more wind sensors 813, and/or one or more rainfall sensors 1011. Thesensors may register one or more measurements which may be passed to asensor hub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the results of the one ormore measurements to a base station 202 via one or more communicationschannels. The sensor hub may be powered by the base station. Forinstance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12V digital signalfrom the base station. The base station and/or sensor hub may be poweredby alternative power sources, including power sources located in groundvehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks and stepped-down AC forcommercial-retail, industrial, and residential buildings, such as 120V,240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The transportation construction module may produce one or more outputs630 in response to the sensed events. The base station may communicatethe outputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/ora server or software element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, andserver or software element may be configured to communicate with oneanother through one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element may sendsignals to and/or receive signals from a transportation contractor 1141and/or to an inspector 1142. The sensor hub may send a signal to atransportation contractor 1150, as described herein. For instance, thesensor hub may send signals to or receive signals from a transportationcontractor's field office.

The transportation construction module may include one or more sensors(such as one or more cameras, microphones, sound meters, temperaturesensors, ambient light sensors, wind sensors, and/or other environmentalsensors) to monitor transportation construction projects (such as roadprojects, railway projects, subway projects, light-rail or elevatedtrain projects, bridge or tunnel projects, and the like), and in somecases to monitor weather and/or environmental factors relevant totransportation construction projects. For instance, a temperature sensormay allow monitoring of the ambient temperature during the pouring,setting, and/or placement of concrete, asphalt, and/or otherconstruction materials at a jobsite. Such operations may only beperformed within strict temperature ranges during course of a job,pursuant to building codes, specifications, and industry standards. Thereal-time measurement of temperature at a job location may providewarning of inappropriate temperatures for these situations and maycreate a record of the temperatures for quality control, qualityassurance, and/or forensics purposes. One or more cameras may provideimages or video of a transportation construction project, which may beused to monitor progress of the project. One or more cameras may providevideo or images regarding traffic delays associated with thetransportation construction project. The transportation constructionmodule may calculate a delay indicator, such as an indication of anexisting or present delay associated with the transportationconstruction project as compared to normal traffic delay for aparticular time at a particular location in the absence of theconstruction project. A message that includes the delay indicator may betransmitted by the transportation construction module or by the basestation to which the module is attached. The message may be transmittedfor receipt by one or more of a message board, a vehicle proximate thegeneral location of the transportation construction module orapproaching the general location of the transportation constructionmodule, a municipal authority, and/or other communications device, andmay provide helpful information regarding the delay so that an alternateroute may be chosen, if appropriate. The transportation constructionmodule may determine an alternate route, and may include informationregarding the alternate route in the message with the delay indicator orin another message. The transportation construction module maycommunicate (for instance, via the attached base station orindependently) with one or more other application modules or basestations, such as application modules or base stations positioned atother locations along or proximate to the construction project. Atemperature sensor may be included with the transportation constructionmodule to measure ambient temperature at the location of the module, andmay provide an alert if the measured temperature falls outside of apredetermined temperature range or if the measured temperature exceeds apredetermined threshold temperature. For example, it may be unsafe ornot recommended to lay asphalt or pour concrete when the ambienttemperature is too warm or too cold. If such a condition is determined,the transportation construction module (or alternatively the basestation) may transmit an alert to a construction foreperson. Thetransportation construction module may determine, prior to sending thealert, that both construction work is currently ongoing (for instance,based on one or more captured images or videos) and that the ambienttemperature is presently a concern (for instance, based on comparing ameasured temperature to a predetermined threshold or range). Thetransportation construction module may use a microphone and sound meterto measure noise levels associated with the transportation constructionproject, and may send an alert if a measured noise level exceeds apredetermined noise level threshold. In some cases, there may berestrictions that prohibit construction work absent a sufficient amountof ambient light, and the transportation construction may monitorambient light conditions (for instance, using a photocell and/or otherlight detector) and provide an alert if the transportation constructionmodule determines that construction work is occurring during a period ofinsufficient light (such as too early in the day or too late in theday). Similarly, an alert may be provided when other weather orenvironmental conditions (such as measured by a sensor of thetransportation construction module) may make construction workdangerous, unsafe, or inappropriate (for instance, during a storm).Because a transportation construction project may span a significantarea or distance, a deployed group of transportation constructionmodules or base stations at various locations along or near the projectmay provide advantageous and localized information not possible usingexisting methods. In this manner, a coordinated tracking or monitoringsystem may be established that leverages a deployed group of basestations and/or application modules to advantageously provide area-widecoverage.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example building construction module.The building construction module 528 may be configured to respond to theoccurrence of one or more events 600. The events may correspond to ameasurement of dew point 801, pressure 802, wind 803, rain 1001, and/orconstruction progress 1201 as described herein. The events may be whollyor partially detected by one or more sensors 610. The sensors mayinclude one or more dew point sensors 811, one or more pressure sensors812, one or more wind sensors 813, one or more rainfall sensors 1011,and/or one or more lidar sensors 612, as described herein. The sensorsmay register one or more measurements which may be passed to a sensorhub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the results of the one or moremeasurements to a base station 202 via one or more communicationschannels. The sensor hub may be powered by the base station. Forinstance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12V digital signalfrom the base station. The base station and/or sensor hub may be poweredby alternative power sources, including power sources located in groundvehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks and stepped-down AC forcommercial-retail, industrial, and residential buildings, such as 120V,240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The building construction module may produce one or more outputs 630 inresponse to the sensed events. The base station may communicate theoutputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or aserver or software element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, andserver or software element may be configured to communicate with oneanother through one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element may sendsignals to and/or receive signals from a building contractor 1241 and/orto an inspector 1142. The sensor hub may send a signal to a buildingcontractor 1250, as described herein. For instance, the sensor hub maysend signals to or receive signals from a building contractor's fieldoffice.

The building or structure construction module may include one or moresensors (such as one or more cameras, microphones, sound meters,temperature sensors, ambient light sensors, wind sensors, and/or otherenvironmental sensors) to monitor building or structure constructionprojects (such as skyscrapers, office buildings, commercial buildings,municipal buildings, stadiums or arenas, residential buildings,multi-unit housing buildings, and the like), and in some cases tomonitor weather or environmental factors relevant to building orstructure construction projects. One or more cameras may provide imagesor video of a building or structure construction project, which may beused to monitor progress of the project. The one or more cameras may bemovable cameras capable of focusing, based on a command or request, onany of several areas of the building or construction project. The one ormore cameras may be capture images or videos according to a programmedsequence. For example, a first image or video may be capturedcorresponding to a first location on the building or structure. A secondimage or video may be captured corresponding to a second location on thebuilding or structure, and so on according to a predefined sequence thatmay be periodically repeated, for example. One or more cameras mayprovide video or images regarding traffic delays associated with thetransportation construction project, if applicable, and may provideinformation or alerts similar to those described herein with referenceto the transportation construction module 527. The building constructionmodule may communicate (for instance, via the attached base station orindependently) with one or more other application modules or basestations, such as one or more other application modules or base stationsassociated with the building or structure construction project (forinstance, positioned at an alternate vantage point with respect to theproject). A temperature sensor may be included with the buildingconstruction module and may measure ambient temperature at the locationof the building construction module. The building construction modulemay provide an alert if the measured temperature falls outside of apredetermined temperature range or if the measured temperature exceeds apredetermined threshold temperature. A wind sensor may be included withthe building construction module and may measure wind conditions (suchas wind velocity or gust information) at the location of the buildingconstruction module. The wind sensor may provide an alert if themeasured wind information indicates an unsafe or dangerous condition forconstruction work. If such a condition is determined, the buildingconstruction module (or alternatively the base station) may transmit analert to a construction foreperson, for example. The module maydetermine, prior to sending the alert, that both construction work iscurrently ongoing (for instance, based on one or more captured images orvideos) and that the ambient temperature or wind (or other weather orenvironmental factor) is presently a concern (for instance, based oncomparing a measured temperature or wind to a predetermined threshold orrange). The building construction module may use a microphone and soundmeter to measure noise levels associated with the building or structureconstruction project, and may send an alert if a measured noise levelexceeds a predetermined noise level threshold. In some cases, there maybe restrictions that prohibit construction work absent a sufficientamount of ambient light, and the building construction module maymonitor ambient light conditions (for instance, using a photocell orother light detection sensor) and provide an alert if the moduledetermines that construction work is occurring during a period ofinsufficient light (for instance, too early in the day or too late inthe day). Similarly, an alert may be provided when other weather orenvironmental conditions (such as measured by a sensor of the module)may make construction work dangerous, unsafe, or inappropriate (such asduring a storm).

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example impaired driver module. Theimpaired driver module 529 may be configured to respond to theoccurrence of one or more events 600. The events may corresponddetecting an automobile range, speed, and/or weaving, as describedherein. The events may be wholly or partially detected by one or moresensors 610. The sensors may include one or more radar sensors 611and/or one or more lidar sensors 612, as described herein. The sensorsmay register one or more measurements which may be passed to a sensorhub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the results of the one or moremeasurements to a base station 202 via one or more communicationschannels. The sensor hub may be powered by the base station. Forinstance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12V digital signalfrom the base station. The base station and/or sensor hub may be poweredby alternative power sources, including power sources located in groundvehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks and stepped-down AC forcommercial-retail, industrial, and residential buildings, such as 120V,240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The impaired driver module may produce one or more outputs 630 inresponse to the sensed events. The base station may communicate theoutputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or aserver or software element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, andserver or software element may be configured to communicate with oneanother through one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element may sendsignals to and/or receive signals from a police department 645.

The impaired driver detection module may include one or more sensors(such as one or more cameras, microphones, radar or lidar components, orother sensors) that may be used to monitor for erratic or recklessdriving behavior that may indicate an impaired driver or a driver takingunnecessary risks. The impaired driver module may determine that aparticular vehicle is being driven erratically, and may transmit amessage for receipt by a police department or police communicationsdevice with an indication of a location and an indication of thevehicle. For instance, the impaired drive module may transmit thelicense plate number, make, model, style (such as sedan, SUV, minivan,or station wagon), color, or the like. The video or images used inmaking the determination may be provided with the message or withanother message. The impaired driver module may send an alert messagefor receipt by one or more of the vehicle (which may then present awarning to the driver based on the received message, for example), anappropriate authority (such as a police department or policecommunications device or a municipal authority), and/or a centralcommand center. For example, a camera may monitor for a vehicle that isswerving in-and-out of a lane. In some cases, a threshold number of suchswerves may be detect, such as one, two, three, four, or anotherappropriate number, before triggering an alert. The impaired drivermodule may monitor for a vehicle that is wandering between lanes, for avehicle that is driving at an unsafe speed (for instance, too fast ortoo slow for the particular area), for a vehicle that contacts abarrier, structure, or another vehicle, or for other indications ofimpaired driving. The impaired driver module may monitor for one or moreinstances where one wheel or two wheels of a vehicle cross a trafficline or lane boundary and a correction occurs thereafter. The impaireddriver module may alter the criteria used to determine erratic drivingbased on a time of day. For example, on weekend evenings or near orafter bar-closing time, the impaired driver module may use a lowerthreshold for determining erratic driving. The impaired driver modulemay factor a location of the module into its determination of erraticdriving. For example, an impaired driver module located near a bar,liquor store, or other location where alcoholic drinks are sold orserved may use a lower threshold for determining erratic driving. Somestates require individuals convicted of a drunk driving violation to uselicense plates having a distinctive feature (such as a distinctive look,color, prefix, suffix, or the like), and in some cases the impaireddriver module may recognize vehicles with license plates having thedistinctive feature and may use a lower threshold for determiningerratic driving for those vehicles. The impaired driver module (oralternatively the base station) may communicate with another applicationmodule or base station to provide an indication of a vehicle suspectedof erratic driving. The impaired driver module or base station may senda message that includes an indication of a vehicle, and informationrelating to the vehicles route or when the other application module orbase station might expect the vehicle to enter a vicinity of the otherapplication module or base station. In this manner, a coordinatedtracking or monitoring system may be established that leverages adeployed group of base stations and/or application modules toadvantageously provide area-wide coverage. Early detection of impaireddrivers may permit law enforcement to intercept the driver before thedriver potentially injures himself or herself, others, or causesproperty damage.

The impaired driver module may detect and alert to distracted driving.For example, the impaired driver module may detect when a driver isusing an electronic device in violation of traffic laws. The impaireddriver module may detect when a driver is texting or sending an emailmessage using a smartphone, tablet device, computing device, wearablesmart device, or the like. The determination of distracted driving maybe based on a number of factors. The impaired driver module may includea communications detector that can detect when a driver is sending atext message or email. A camera of the impaired driver module maycapture an image or video of a distracted driver using an electronicdevice in an impermissible way. The impaired driver module may determinethat is particular vehicle is being driven erratically or by adistracted driver, and may transmit an alert message for receipt by oneor more of the vehicle (which may then present a warning to the driverbased on the received message, for example), an appropriate authority(such as a police department or police communications device or amunicipal authority), and/or a central command center. The message oralert may include an indication of a location (such as a location ofvehicle when observed, location of application module or streetlight,expected current or future location of vehicle based on route) and anindication of the vehicle. For instance, the indication of the vehiclemay include a license plate number, make, model, style (such as sedan,SUV, minivan, or station wagon), color, or the like. An indication ofthe distraction type may be included in the message or in anothermessage. A captured image or video used in the determination may beincluded with the message or another message. The impaired driver modulemay detect a driver who is not wearing a seatbelt, and may send an alertmessage for receipt by one or more of the vehicle (which may thenpresent a warning to the driver based on the received message, forexample), an appropriate authority (such as police or a municipalauthority), and/or a central command center.

A first impaired driver module (or alternatively base station) may makea first determination that a vehicle is operating or being drivenerratically, or that there is a likelihood that the vehicle is beingoperated by an impaired driver. The first application module maytransmit a message or alert as described above. The first applicationmodule may transmit a message to one or more other application modules(such as one or more application modules that are “downstream of” or inthe direction of travel of the vehicle) and provide one or more of anindication of the vehicle, an indication of the first determination, andan instruction to monitor the vehicle. Upon receipt of the message, asecond impaired driver module may monitor the vehicle to assess forerratic or reckless driving, and in some cases the second impaireddriver module may apply a different threshold (such as a lower thresholdbased on the indication from the first application module that thevehicle is already suspected of erratic or reckless driving) indetermining whether the vehicle is being driven erratically orrecklessly. If the second impaired driver module determines that thevehicle is being driven erratically or recklessly based on the differentthreshold, or in some examples based on the same threshold as used bythe first impaired driver module, the second impaired driver module maytransmit a message or alert for receipt by one or more of the vehicle(which may then present a warning to the driver based on the receivedmessage), an appropriate authority (such as a police department orpolice communications device or a municipal authority), and/or a centralcommand center.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example intersection violation module.The intersection violation module 530 may be configured to respond tothe occurrence of one or more events 600. The events may correspond todetecting an intersection violation, as described herein. The events maybe wholly or partially detected by one or more sensors 610. The sensorsmay include one or more radar sensors 611, as described herein. Thesensors may register one or more measurements which may be passed to asensor hub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the results of the one ormore measurements to a base station 202 via one or more communicationschannels. The sensor hub may be powered by the base station. Forinstance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12V digital signalfrom the base station. The base station and/or sensor hub may be poweredby alternative power sources, including power sources located in groundvehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks and stepped-down AC forcommercial-retail, industrial, and residential buildings, such as 120V,240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The intersection violation module may produce one or more outputs 630 inresponse to the sensed events. The base station may communicate theoutputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or aserver or software element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, andserver or software element may be configured to communicate with oneanother through one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element may send aviolation ticket to an owner 1441.

The intersection violation and/or management module may include one ormore sensors (such as one or more cameras, microphones, radar or lidarcomponents, and/or other sensors) that can be used to monitor forintersection violations such as a driver running a red light or failingto yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, to list a few examples. Theintersection violation module may send an alert message for receipt byone or more of the vehicle (which may then present a warning to thedriver based on the received message), an appropriate authority (such asthe police or a municipal authority), and/or a central command center toalert the violation. The intersection violation module may also assesstraffic flow in the vicinity of the intersection and communicate amessage or command to one or more traffic lights at the intersection (orat an intersection upstream or downstream from the instant location).The message or command may provide information or instruction on thecurrent traffic so that traffic flow may be optimized by appropriateadjustments to the traffic light output pattern. The intersectionviolation module may determine how the traffic light should adjust itsoutput pattern, and may communicate the adjustment to the traffic light.The intersection violation module may provide information regarding thecurrent traffic and the traffic light may use the information todetermine an appropriate adjustment.

The shot identification and/or suspect monitoring module 531 may includeone or more sensors (such as one or more cameras, microphones, radar orlidar components, gunshot detectors, flash detectors, infrareddetectors, and/or other sensors) that can be used to identify a gunshot,assess characteristics of the gunshot, and/or enable area-widemonitoring in response to detection of the gunshot. The gunshot detectormay identify a gunshot based on a sound emitted by a gun duringdischarge. The shot identification and/or suspect monitoring module may,upon detection of a gunshot, process information about the gunshot toidentify one or more of a location of the gunshot, a weapon type ormodel associated with the gunshot, a cadence of the gunshot (insituations where multiple rounds are fired), and a strength of thegunshot. The shot identification and/or suspect monitoring module mayinclude one or more cameras that may continuously record video and mayinclude two or more memory stores. The shot identification and/orsuspect monitoring module may include four cameras, the four camerasgenerally oriented at about 90 degree angles with respect to theadjacent camera, for 360-degree coverage, and each of the cameras may becontinuously recording (or periodically recording according to apredetermined pattern or non-predetermined pattern). Alternatively, one,two, three, four, five, six or any number of cameras may be used toprovide focused coverage anywhere between 0 and 360 degrees, or toprovide complete 360-degree coverage. The shot identification and/orsuspect monitoring module may store a first duration (such as 5 minutes,10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 50 minutes, 60 minutes,or more than 60 minutes) of recorded video. The video may be obtainedfrom one or more (for instance, all) of the cameras of one or more areasproximate the shot identification and/or suspect monitoring module inthe first memory store, and then may store a subsequent contiguous timeperiod (of the same or different duration) in the second memory store.The video stored in a particular memory store may be erased oroverwritten after a sufficient period of time where no gunshot eventswere detected. The use of multiple streetlights and similar locationsfor gunshot detection may provide numerous advantages. The use ofmultiple locations may allow for a more granular analysis of shotlocation and characteristics. Unlike approaches that use a wide areadetection system to generally place the gunshot, the use of tens,hundreds, thousands, or more microphones in a wide area may result indozens of sensors reporting the same event. That multiplicity ofreporting locations may allow a greater ability to sort out echoes,deflections, ambient noise, and/or other elements that typically act todegrade estimates of time, location, and characteristics of thegunshots.

When the shot detection and/or suspect monitoring module detects agunshot event, it may activate one or more microphones to record audio(where the microphones may previously have been inactive, the one ormore microphones being different from the gunshot detector in somecases). The shot detection and/or suspect monitoring module may transmitthe real-time video and audio captured for one or more areas proximatethe shot identification and/or suspect monitoring module or an areawhere the gunshot event was determined to have occurred for receipt byone or more of an appropriate authority (such as a police department,fire department, or other municipal authority) and control center. Theshot identification and/or suspect monitoring module may transmit theinformation determined by the shot identification and/or suspectmonitoring module regarding the gunshot event (such as the location ofthe gunshot, a weapon type or model associated with the gunshot, acadence of the gunshot (in situations where multiple rounds are fired),and a strength of the gunshot) for receipt by one or more of theaforementioned entities. The shot identification and/or suspectmonitoring module may also transmit stored video for a predeterminedtime preceding (for instance, video for the 30 minutes preceding thegunshot event) the gunshot event for receipt by one or more of theaforementioned entities, so that it may be scrutinized for suspects orsuspicious activity. The shot identification and/or suspect monitoringmodule may also include a motion detector that can identify motion, suchas motion in an area near the area determined based on the detectedgunshot, and the one or more cameras can record or transmit (or both)video of these areas. The shot identification and/or suspect monitoringmodule may also, upon detection of a gunshot event, cause a streetlight,or command the base station to cause the streetlight, to illuminate oneor more luminaires of the streetlight to maximum intensity. The shotidentification and/or suspect monitoring module may, upon detection of agunshot event, transmit a message for receipt by a plurality of othershot identification and/or suspect monitoring modules or base stations(or other types of modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518,519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532,533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541). For example, all suchmodules or base stations within a three-block radius of the shotidentification and/or suspect monitoring module may cause theirrespective streetlight, if applicable, to illuminate at maximumintensity, and to begin transmitting real-time or previously recordedvideo and audio for receipt by one or more of the aforementionedentities.

When the shot identification and/or suspect monitoring module detects agunshot event, the module may transmit a message that includes a commandto launch an autonomous drone to film a location of the gunshot event.The drone may film the location of the gunshot event using one or moreof conventional cameras and infrared (for instance, night vision)cameras. It will be understood that any of the modules 510, 511, 512,513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526,527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540,and 541 described herein, upon detection of an event by the respectivemodule, may similarly transmit a message that includes a command tolaunch an autonomous drone to film a location of the event. Any of themodules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522,523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536,537, 538, 539, 540, and 541 may flash streetlights in the vicinity ofthe gunshot, for instance to warn bystanders of the potential danger.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example communications repeater module.The communications repeater module 532 may be configured to respond tothe occurrence of one or more events 600. The events may correspond totransferring a cellphone call 1501, as described herein. The events maybe wholly or partially detected by one or more sensors 610. The sensorsmay include one or more cellphones 1511, as described herein. Thesensors may register one or more measurements which may be passed to asensor hub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the results of the one ormore measurements to a base station 202 via one or more communicationschannels. The sensor hub may be powered by the base station. Forinstance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12V digital signalfrom the base station. The base station and/or sensor hub may be poweredby alternative power sources, including power sources located in groundvehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks and stepped-down AC forcommercial-retail, industrial, and residential buildings, such as 120V,240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The communications repeater module may produce one or more outputs 630in response to the sensed events. The base station may communicate theoutputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or aserver or software element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, andserver or software element may be configured to communicate with oneanother through one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The sensor hub may send a signal to arepeater 1550, as described herein.

The communications repeater module may include one or more firstantennas configured to receive an initial communications signal, one ormore amplifiers to amplify or boost the received initial communicationssignal, and/or one or more second antennas to transmit or broadcast theamplified or boosted signal. The communications repeater module may beused to repeat or boost a WiFi signal. In this manner, thecommunications repeater module or multiple communications repeatermodules may extend a WiFi signal to cover a neighborhood, for example.The communications repeater module may be used to extend cellularcoverage (e.g., LTE networks, CDMA networks, GSM networks, or othermobile phone networks) for wireless telephones.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an example wireless Internet provision orWiFi module. The wireless Internet provision or WiFi module 533 may beconfigured to respond to the occurrence of one or more events 600. Theevents may correspond to a WiFi “handshake”, as described herein. Theevents may be wholly or partially detected by one or more sensors 610.The sensors may include one or more wireless routers 1611, as describedherein. The sensors may register one or more measurements which may bepassed to a sensor hub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the resultsof the one or more measurements to a base station 202 via one or morecommunications channels. The sensor hub may be powered by the basestation. For instance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12Vdigital signal from the base station. The base station and/or sensor hubmay be powered by alternative power sources, including power sourceslocated in ground vehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks andstepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, and residentialbuildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, andcommercial purposes.

The wireless Internet provision or WiFi module may produce one or moreoutputs 630 in response to the sensed events. The base station maycommunicate the outputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud633, and/or a server or software element 640. The mesh, cellularnetwork, cloud, and server or software element may be configured tocommunicate with one another through one or more communicationschannels, such as one or more wireless communications channels. Theserver or software element may receive a 3rd party alert 641. The sensorhub may send a signal to streetlights 650, as described herein.

The wireless Internet provision module may include a wireless routerthat may provide wireless Internet access to users. The wirelessInternet access may be provided free of charge. The wireless Internetaccess may be provided to users having a subscription to a service. Thewireless Internet provision module may require a password for access tothe wireless Internet. In some cases, the wireless Internet provisionmodule may not require a password for access to the wireless Internet.The wireless Internet provision module may provide advertising orpromotional content with the wireless Internet access.

The vehicle information logging module 534 may include one or moresensors (such as one or more cameras, microphones, radar or lidarcomponents, and/or other sensors) that may be used to record when avehicle (for instance, an unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned aerialsystem, autonomous ground vehicle, unmanned ground vehicles, and/orother type of vehicle) passes by or is within a proximity of the vehicleinformation logging module. A time stamp may be recorded correspondingto the time that the vehicle was observed or detected passing by orwithin the proximity. The vehicle information logging module maycommunicate with the vehicle. In some cases, the vehicle informationlogging module does not communicate with the vehicle. An identificationnumber for the vehicle may be stored, along with a time stamp indicatingthe time that the vehicle passed by the vehicle information loggingmodule or was in a proximity of the vehicle information logging module.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an example parking module. The parkingmodule 535 may be configured to respond to the occurrence of one or moreevents 600. The events may include the occurrence of smoke 1701 or fire1702. The events may be wholly or partially detected by one or moresensors 610. The sensors may include one or more smoke sensors 1711, oneor more fire sensors 1712, and/or one or more infrared sensor 1713. Thesensors may register one or more measurements which may be passed to asensor hub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the results of the one ormore measurements to a base station 202 via one or more communicationschannels. The sensor hub may be powered by the base station. Forinstance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12V digital signalfrom the base station. The base station and/or sensor hub may be poweredby alternative power sources, including power sources located in groundvehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks and stepped-down AC forcommercial-retail, industrial, and residential buildings, such as 120V,240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The parking module may produce one or more outputs 630 in response tothe sensed events. The base station may communicate the outputs to amesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or a server orsoftware element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, and server orsoftware element may be configured to communicate with one anotherthrough one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element mayfurther send signals to and/or receive signals from retail security1741, a fire department 646, and/or emergency medical technicians (EMT)647.

The parking module may include one or more sensors (such as one or morecameras, microphones, radar or lidar components, and/or other sensors)that may be used to monitor parking spaces and vehicles occupying theparking spaces, and may be used to identify vehicles that are parkedillegally or that have overstayed a period of time paid for or otherwiseassociated with a parking event duration for the parking spot or thevehicle occupying the spot. When the parking module determines a parkingviolation for a particular vehicle, the module may transmit an alertmessage for receipt by one or more of the vehicle, a communicationsdevice of the owner or driver of the vehicle (such as a smartphone,tablet device, smartwatch, or other wearable device, or the like), anappropriate authority (such as a police department or policecommunications device, municipal authority, parking attendant, and/orparking ticket issuer), and a central command center.

The on-request monitoring module 536 may include one or more sensors(such as, one or more cameras, microphones, radar or lidar components,and/or other sensors) that can be used to monitor an area in response toa third-party request for monitoring services. The on-request monitoringmodule may receive a wireless message that includes a monitoringrequest, and in response may activate one or more cameras or othersensors to record or transmit (or both) one or more of video, images,and audio, or combinations of the foregoing, captured by the one or morecameras or other sensors. The one or more cameras or other sensors maycapture video, images or sound of an area in a vicinity to theon-request monitoring module. In response to the monitoring request, theon-request monitoring module may communicate a request to increase anintensity of one or more luminaires associated with the streetlight tothe base station. The on-request monitoring module or base station maycause the one or more luminaires of the streetlight to illuminate at amaximum intensity, so that the area may be better illuminated. As oneexample, a security system in a nearby building may detect an event andin response may transmit a message that includes a monitoring requestfor receipt by one or more on-request monitoring modules within aproximity of the nearby building (for instance, all on-requestmonitoring modules within a three-block range or other appropriaterange). In response to receiving the message, each of the on-requestmonitoring modules may activate their one or more cameras or othersensors to capture video, images, and/or audio of the area. As anotherexample, suppose that an act of terrorism is committed at a particularlocation, and suppose that an active shooter remains on the loose. Theon-request monitoring module, or each of the on-request monitoringmodules within an appropriate distance of the event, may receive amessage that includes a monitoring request from a police department,fire department, first responder, or the like, and may activate inresponse their one or more cameras (or other sensors) to record ortransmit (or both) video, images, audio, and/or combinations of theforegoing to assist officers and responders in assessing the situationor for improved safety during active engagement with the suspects. Theon-request monitoring module may receive a request from a pedestrian(such as from a computing device such as a smartphone, tablet device,smartwatch, or other wearable device, of a pedestrian) and in responsemay cause (or request the base station to cause) the one or moreluminaires of the streetlight to illuminate at a maximum intensity, sothat the area may be better illuminated, for example, and in some casesmay also activate one or more cameras or other sensors to record ortransmit (or both) one or more of video, images, and audio, orcombinations of the foregoing, captured by the one or more cameras orother sensors to the computing device of the pedestrian, for example forstorage on the computing device of the pedestrian as a video record ofan environment where the pedestrian is or of actions that occur with orto the pedestrian. Such an on-demand record may be used, for example, tocapture evidence of a crime or incident that may be of interest toauthorities. In some examples, such an on-demand record may be used tochronicle ones actions in a situation where one may be concerned that'sones actions may be misconstrued or unfairly viewed in a negative light,absent proof to the contrary that the on-demand record may provide.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an example UAV re-charging module. The UAVre-charging module 537 may be configured to respond to the occurrence ofone or more events 600. The events may include the detection of a UAVand/or automobile through its range and/or speed 901. The events may bewholly or partially detected by one or more sensors 610. The sensors mayinclude one or more radar sensors 611, one or more lidar sensors 612,and/or one or more navigation beacons 613. The sensors may register oneor more measurements which may be passed to a sensor hub 620. The sensorhub may communicate the results of the one or more measurements to abase station 202 via one or more communications channels. The sensor hubmay be powered by the base station. For instance, the sensor hub may bepowered by a 5V or 12V digital signal from the base station. The basestation and/or sensor hub may be powered by alternative power sources,including power sources located in ground vehicles such as 12V for carsand trucks and stepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, andresidential buildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses,jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The UAV re-charging module may produce one or more outputs 630 inresponse to the sensed events. The base station may communicate theoutputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or aserver or software element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, andserver or software element may be configured to communicate with oneanother through one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element mayfurther send signals to and/or receive signals from UAV owners 1841. Forinstance, the server or software element may send an indication of powerusage at the UAV re-charging module to the UAV owner. The power usagemay be measured by a power meter 1850 connected to a wireless charger1860. The power meter may be configured to send signals to and/orreceive signals from the sensor hub.

The UAV re-charging module may be configured to store and charge astockpile of batteries that may be picked up and used by UAVs or movedto another location where they are more needed. The UAV re-chargingmodule may be configured to maximize the rate of a re-charge andminimize the time required for re-charge without the need for accuratealignment of charging elements.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an example military/port security module.The military/port security module 538 may be configured to respond tothe occurrence of one or more events 600. The events may include thedetection of the operation of a pull box 1901, a “help” signal 902, avehicle intrusion 1903, and/or a hostile drone 1904. The events may bewholly or partially detected by one or more sensors 610. The sensors mayinclude one or more radar sensors 611, one or more lidar sensors 612,one or more magnetometers 911, and/or one or more pull boxes 1911. Thesensors may register one or more measurements which may be passed to asensor hub 620. The sensor hub may communicate the results of the one ormore measurements to a base station 202 via one or more communicationschannels. The sensor hub may be powered by the base station. Forinstance, the sensor hub may be powered by a 5V or 12V digital signalfrom the base station. The base station and/or sensor hub may be poweredby alternative power sources, including power sources located in groundvehicles such as 12V for cars and trucks and stepped-down AC forcommercial-retail, industrial, and residential buildings, such as 120V,240V, and/or 480V AC for houses, jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The military/port security module may produce one or more outputs 630 inresponse to the sensed events. The base station may communicate theoutputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or aserver or software element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, andserver or software element may be configured to communicate with oneanother through one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element mayfurther send signals to and/or receive signals from base or portsecurity 1941. The sensor hub may send a signal to lights 1950 and/or toentrance or exit gates 1951, as described herein.

The military and port security module may also include a loudspeaker toprovide human-controlled and/or autonomous warnings or commands toservice personnel or to intruders regarding the nature of theinstallation, the severity of trespass events, and/or the potential forarmed or potentially lethal responses by personnel or vehicles (mannedor unmanned).

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of an example pipeline integrity module. Thepipeline integrity module 539 may include one or more sensors andassociated components/circuitry to provide functionality such as any ofthe functionality provided by the systems and methods described in U.S.Pat. No. 8,903,558 to John A. Jarrell and Robert C. Hendrickson, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety for all purposes. The pipeline integrity module 539 may beconfigured to respond to the occurrence of one or more events 600. Theevents may include the detection of a gas leak 2001, smoke 1701, fire1702, an explosion 2002, and/or an earthquake 2003. The events may bewholly or partially detected by one or more sensors 610. The sensors mayinclude one or more gas detectors 2011, one or more smoke sensors 1711,one or more fire sensors 1712, one or more acoustic detectors 2012,and/or one or more seismic sensors 2013. The sensors may register one ormore measurements which may be passed to a sensor hub 620. The sensorhub may communicate the results of the one or more measurements to abase station 202 via one or more communications channels. The sensor hubmay be powered by the base station. For instance, the sensor hub may bepowered by a 5V or 12V digital signal from the base station. The basestation and/or sensor hub may be powered by alternative power sources,including power sources located in ground vehicles such as 12V for carsand trucks and stepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, andresidential buildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses,jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The pipeline integrity module may produce one or more outputs 630 inresponse to the sensed events. The base station may communicate theoutputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or aserver or software element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, andserver or software element may be configured to communicate with oneanother through one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element mayfurther send signals to and/or receive signals from a gas company 2042,a police department 645, a fire department 646, and/or EMT 647. Thesensor hub may send a signal to streetlights 650 and/or to pipelinevalves 2050, as described herein.

The pipeline integrity module may receive short distance signals fromremote sensors to detect physical damage, impacts, digging, corrosion,and/or other factors that may lead to a breach or the line. The remotesensors may detect surface tilt, which could be a warning of a potentiallandslide. The remote sensors may detect salinity, depth of water table,stray electrical currents, galvanic corrosion cells, and/or otherindications of the potential for corrosion. The sensors may includestrain gauges to how determine physical stresses (such as stretching ofthe pipeline, the effects of heat or cold on joints and pipeline orvalve connectors, or direct physical impacts from car, truck, or traincollisions) may have affected the structural or material integrity ofthe pipeline.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of an example air pollution module. The airpollution module 540 may be configured to respond to the occurrence ofone or more events 600. The events may include the detection ofpollution 2101. The events may be wholly or partially detected by one ormore sensors 610. The sensors may include one or more airborneparticulate sensors 2111. The sensors may register one or moremeasurements which may be passed to a sensor hub 620. The sensor hub maycommunicate the results of the one or more measurements to a basestation 202 via one or more communications channels. The sensor hub maybe powered by the base station. For instance, the sensor hub may bepowered by a 5V or 12V digital signal from the base station. The basestation and/or sensor hub may be powered by alternative power sources,including power sources located in ground vehicles such as 12V for carsand trucks and stepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, andresidential buildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses,jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The air pollution module may produce one or more outputs 630 in responseto the sensed events. The base station may communicate the outputs to amesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud 633, and/or a server orsoftware element 640. The mesh, cellular network, cloud, and server orsoftware element may be configured to communicate with one anotherthrough one or more communications channels, such as one or morewireless communications channels. The server or software element mayreceive a 3rd party alert 641. The server or software element mayfurther send signals to and/or receive signals from the FederalEmergency Management Agency (FEMA) 841, the United States GeologicalSurvey (USGS) 842, one or more state geological agencies 843, a policedepartment 645, a fire department 646, and/or EMT 647. The sensor hubmay send a signal to streetlights 650, as described herein.

The air pollution sensors may include sensors for gases, radiologicalparticles, and/or organic or inorganic chemical compounds. The airpollution module may be configured to make measurements and/or issuealerts in response to pollution events that occur over an extendedperiod of time (such as smog) and/or to pollution events that occur overa much shorter period of time (such as a catastrophic accident at achemical facility or refinery).

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an example UAV detection/airport securitymodule. The UAV detection/airport security module 541 may be configuredto respond to the occurrence of one or more events 600. The events mayoccur in response to a challenge question posed to a UAV, as describedherein. The events may include a registered UAV passing a challengequestion 601 or an unregistered UAV failing a challenge question 602.The events may be wholly or partially detected by one or more sensors610. The sensors may include one or more radar sensors and/or one ormore lidar sensors 612. The sensors may register one or moremeasurements which may be passed to a sensor hub 620. The sensor hub maycommunicate the results of the one or more measurements to a basestation 202 via one or more communications channels. The sensor hub maybe powered by the base station. For instance, the sensor hub may bepowered by a 5V or 12V digital signal from the base station. The basestation and/or sensor hub may be powered by alternative power sources,including power sources located in ground vehicles such as 12V for carsand trucks and stepped-down AC for commercial-retail, industrial, andresidential buildings, such as 120V, 240V, and/or 480V AC for houses,jobsites, and commercial purposes.

The UAV detection/airport security module may produce one or moreoutputs 630 in response to the sensed events. The base station maycommunicate the outputs to a mesh 631, a cellular network 632, the cloud633, and/or a server or software element 640. The mesh, cellularnetwork, cloud, and server or software element may be configured tocommunicate with one another through one or more communicationschannels, such as one or more wireless communications channels. Theserver or software element may receive a 3rd party alert 641. The serveror software element may send and/or receive communications from alibrary 642 of registered UAV profiles, as described herein. Forinstance, the server or software element may query the library ofregistered UAV profiles to determine whether a UAV detected by the UAVmanagement module has been registered with the library, as describedherein. The library may then send a response to the server or softwareelement regarding whether the UAV is registered in the library, asdescribed herein. The server or software element may further sendsignals to and/or receive signals from a police department 645, a firedepartment 646, and/or emergency medical technicians (EMT) 647. Thesensor hub may send a signal to operate a streetlight 650, as describedherein.

The use of the UAV detection module in area-wide streetlights may pushthe defensive perimeters of airports out to a distance of several miles.While more sophisticated detection systems (such as airport radar) andanti-UAV countermeasures may be deployed in the airport's nearperimeter, the ability to detect potential threats at great distancesand at low flight levels (such as at altitudes below the airport's radarcoverage), may allow an early and autonomous warning of a potentialrogue, fly-away, or malicious drone. This may allow more aggressivedetection and counter-measures to be more rapidly brought to bear byairport authorities and security and law enforcement personnel. Thedeployment of such detection and cameras at the edge of the perimetermay also increase the chance of interception, disruption, and/orapprehension of the operators of the illicit UAVs, whether the UAVs arecontrolled near to the perimeter or launched from a vehicle or building.

Any of the modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519,520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533,534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541 (or base stations) discussedherein may be deployed on a generally permanent basis, or may bedeployed on a generally temporary basis. It may be beneficial to deploya module or base station (or combination) on a temporary basis toprovide functionality appropriate for an event or time period wheredemand for the service or functionality is expected to exceed normal orstatic demand. Some examples of situations where temporary (orpermanent) deployment may be applicable may include sporting events,gatherings, rallies, parades, processions, celebrations, festivals,areas where protests are expected, areas experiencing an increase incrime or a high level of crime, areas less likely to be patrolled bypolice units, areas where one or more persons of interest reside, areasaffected by a natural disaster, areas where an accident has occurred orareas prone to experiencing accidents, and/or other appropriate areas.

Any of the modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519,520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533,534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and 541 discussed herein (or the basestation) may include artificial intelligence capability to permit theapplication module (or base station) to improve performance or providenew functionality based on past data collected or past results. Specifictechniques to employ facial recognition and other pattern recognitionmay also be used. As an example, one or more of the unmanned aerialvehicle communication or management module 70, autonomous ground vehiclecommunication or management module 71, and traffic monitoring and/oralert module 76 may collect information regarding traffic congestion,and may use the information collected to make improved future trafficmanagement decisions to improve or optimize traffic congestion based onthe collected information. The improved traffic management decisions maybe communicated (for instance, by the application module or by the basestation) to one or more traffic lights, or to a communications systemassociated with the one or more traffic lights, and the improved trafficmanagement decisions may be used to regulate one or more traffic lights.One or more of the aforementioned modules, or the corresponding basestation, may communicate the collected information (or a decisiondetermined based on the collected information) to another computingdevice (such as another base station (for instance, an “upstream” or“downstream” base station), another application module (for instance, an“upstream” or “downstream” application module), or to a central controlcenter) and the another computing device may use the information toimprove or optimize traffic congestion based on the collectedinformation.

Providing the functionality described herein in a modular manner byproviding a first set of functionality with a base station and byproviding a second set of functionality with an application module mayprovide benefits. For example, the cost of base stations may be kept lowbecause they can be mass produced at high quantities and low costs witha limited or first set of functionality. The application modules 510,511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524,525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538,539, 540, and 541 may use the same enclosure or housing as the basestation uses, and by having a large variety of application moduleconfigurations, the amount of components and circuitry in any individualapplication module may be reduced, which can also lower cost of theapplication modules. A public agency or utility benefit of a widespread,instantaneous grid at uniform height above the ground level (such as atstreetlight-height) is the ability to instantly aggregate the data fromthese sources and create an overall assessment of a situation, somethingthat may be difficult or impossible with sporadic reports, scatterednews reports, or randomly placed sensors. Another benefit of astreetlight modular system and sensor grid, in some examples, is theoption to immediately replace or change out an application module to fita new situation. For example, a fire and smoke detection applicationmodule (i.e. an application module that includes smoke or fire sensingand alert module 522) could be swapped out (or supplemented with) withan application module that includes environmental sensors (i.e. anapplication module that includes environmental sensing and/or alertmodule 515) after a fire to detect residual toxic fumes, or anapplication module that includes an activity sensor (i.e. an applicationmodule that includes activity sensing and/or alert module 517) with highsensitivity microphones to detect survivors in a particular neighborhoodor business center affected by a mass disaster. Such swapping out orsupplementing of (such as by stacking on top of) application modules maytake only a few minutes and may not require reestablishing theelectronic grid with a new group of communications modules, as the basestations may remain in place. An existing application module may bemoved to a new location. For example, an environmental study of localbird nesting and flight behavior might be completed and a collection ofapplication modules designed for that purpose could be moved to a newstudy location with minimal effort. Such reconfiguration may beperformed by simply updating the firmware of the modules or usingaccumulated data from standard application modules in a new way.

As described herein, a wide variety of application modules may bepossible with configurations tailored to a specific application.Appropriate combinations of application module functionality may bepackaged for particular applications, and the packaging may include oneor more of a distinctive color or pattern on the housing of theapplication module. A collection of application module functionality maybe provided in an application module for weather station applications,and the housing of the weather station application module may includeone or more particular colors or patterns; for example, the housing maybe blue with a white stripe (or may have another appropriate distinctiverepresentation). As another example, a collection of application modulefunctionality may be provided in an application module for environmentalsensing applications, and the housing of the environmental sensingapplication module may be white with a green stripe (or may have anotherappropriate distinctive representation). As yet another example, acollection of application module functionality may be provided in anapplication module for industrial gas monitoring or pipeline monitoringapplications, and the housing of the industrial gas monitoring orpipeline monitoring application module may be green with a red stripe(or may have another appropriate distinctive representation). As yetanother example, a collection of application module functionality may beprovided in an application module for parking lot or industrial securityapplications, and the housing of the parking lot or industrial securityapplications application module may be red with a white stripe (or mayhave another appropriate distinctive representation). As yet anotherexample, a collection of application module functionality may beprovided in an application module for drone detection, identification,and/or threat assessment applications, and the housing of the dronedetection, identification, and/or threat assessment application modulemay be black with a white stripe (or may have another appropriatedistinctive representation). As yet another example, a collection ofapplication module functionality may be provided in an applicationmodule for drone navigation and traffic management, and the housing ofthe drone navigation and traffic management application module may beblack with two white stripes (or may have another appropriatedistinctive representation). As yet another example, a collection ofapplication module functionality may be provided in an applicationmodule for ground-based autonomous vehicle navigation and trafficmanagement, and the housing of the ground-based autonomous vehiclenavigation and traffic management application module may be black withthree white stripes (or may have another appropriate distinctiverepresentation). Providing distinctive markings on application modulesmay provide a quick visual indication, viewable by a human from theground, for example, of the functionality provided by the applicationmodule.

The base station or application module may include circuitry formanaging an external energy generation unit, such as a solar powerenergy generation unit, a wind power energy generation unit, ahydroelectric power energy generation unit, or other appropriate energygeneration unit. The energy gleaned from the energy generation unit maybe used to power the base station, one or more application modules, thestreetlight (if applicable), and/or other support member electronics (ifapplicable). Energy gleaned from the energy generation unit may be usedto supplement one or more other sources of energy to power the basestation, one or more application modules, the streetlight (ifapplicable), or other support member electronics (if applicable).

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of an example base station. The base station202 may be configured to respond to the occurrence of one or more events2300. The events may include detection of energizing of that basestation 2301, movement of the base station 2302, a change in temperature2303, light or darkness 2304, exterior motion 2305, the presence ofvehicles 2306, the presence of pedestrians 2307, and/or audio events2308 (such as gun shots, alarms, yelling of the word “help” or othervocal attempts to elicit assistance, a car crash, broken glass, and thelike). The events may be wholly or partially detected by one or moresensors 2310. The sensors may include one or more global positioningsystem (GPS) sensors 2311, one or more accelerometers 2312, one or morethermometers 2313, one or more photo cells 2314, one or more cameras2315, and/or one or more acoustic sensors 2316. The sensors may registerone or more measurements which may be passed to an integrated circuit(IC) 2320. The IC may act as a controller for operating a plurality ofelectronic components of the base station. The IC may be operativelycouple to a solid state relay 2321. The solid state relay may beoperatively coupled to a power meter 2322. The power meter may measure apower usage of the base station and any attached modules 510, 511, 512,513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526,527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540,and/or 541. The power meter may send measurements of the power usage tothe IC. The IC may send signals to and/or receive signals from an appmodule 2341. The app module and solid state relay may be operativelycoupled to a trickle charger/battery 2324 and to a transformer 2325. Thetransformer may be configured to convert an electrical input from astreetlight or parking lot light 2360, as described herein. Thetransformer may be configured to provide an AC-AC electrical conversionor an AC-DC electrical conversion. The trickle charger/battery may beconfigured to provide electrical power to the components of the basestation and/or to store electrical power for future use by the basestation. The IC may be configured to send signals to and/or receivesignals from a Bluetooth chip 2326 and a cyber security module 2327. Thecyber security module may be configured to send signals to and/orreceive signals from a navigation beacon 2328. The cyber security moduleand navigation beacon may be configured to send signals to and/orreceive signals from a WiFi chip 2329. The cyber security chip,navigation beacon, and WiFi chip may be configured to send signals toand/or receive signals from a cellular chip 2330. The Bluetooth chip,cyber security module, WiFi chip, and cellular chip may be configured tosend signals to and/or receive signals from an external antenna 2331.The external antenna may be configured to send wireless signals toand/or receive wireless signals from a mesh 2342. The base station mayproduce one or more outputs 2340 in response to sensed events. The basestation may communicate the outputs to a mesh 2342, a cellular network2343, the cloud 2344, and/or a server or software element 2350. Themesh, cellular network, cloud, and server or software element may beconfigured to communicate with one another through one or morecommunications channels, such as one or more wireless communicationschannels. The server or software element may receive a 3rd party alert2351. The server or software element may further send signals to and/orreceive signals from one or more users 2352.

The components depicted in FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 , and/or 23 may include separate electroniccomponents on single or multiple circuit boards, or may be groupedtogether or a single circuit board or single chip for ease ofmanufacture, reduced size, speed, memory, and/or cost considerations.

FIG. 24A depicts an embodiment of a modular assembly or modularstreetlight assembly including a base station and a camera unit. Themodular streetlight assembly may be mounted atop a streetlight, autility pole, or other support member using a base station 202, asdescribed herein. The base station may include a plurality of electricalconnections for drawing electrical power from, sending signals to and/orreceiving signals from the streetlight or other structure. The modularstreetlight assembly may further include a camera unit 2402. The cameraunit may include one or more cameras 2408, as described herein. Thecamera unit may include one, two, three, four, or more than fourcameras. The cameras may be arranged to provide a 360 degree view aroundthe camera unit.

FIG. 24B depicts an embodiment of a modular assembly or modularstreetlight assembly including a base station, an application module,and a camera unit. The modular streetlight assembly may be mounted atopa streetlight or other support member using a base station 202, asdescribed herein. The base station may include a plurality of electricalconnections for drawing electrical power from, sending signals to and/orreceiving signals from the streetlight or other structure. The modularstreetlight assembly may further include a camera unit 2402. The cameraunit may include one or more cameras 2408, as described herein. Thecamera unit may include one, two, three, four, or more than fourcameras. The cameras may be arranged to provide a 360 degree view aroundthe camera unit. The camera unit may include one or more additionalcameras pointed in an upward direction to monitor the area above thecamera unit. The modular streetlight assembly may further include anapplication module 2404. The application module may be mounted betweenthe base station and the camera unit. The application module may be anyof the modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520,521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534,535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and/or 541 described herein.

FIG. 24C depicts an embodiment of a modular assembly or modularstreetlight assembly including a base station, an application module,and a hollow cap. The modular streetlight assembly may be mounted atop astreetlight or other support member using a base station 202, asdescribed herein. The base station may include a plurality of electricalconnections for drawing electrical power from, sending signals to and/orreceiving signals from the streetlight or other structure. The modularstreetlight assembly may further include an application module 2404. Theapplication module may be mounted atop the base station. The applicationmodule may be any of the modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517,518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531,532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and/or 541 describedherein. The modular streetlight assembly may further include a hollowcap 2406 mounted atop the application module in place of the cameraunit. The modular assembly may also include a plug-in light that can becoupled to the base station or to an application module.

FIG. 24D depicts an embodiment of a modular assembly or modularstreetlight assembly including a base station, a plurality ofapplication modules, and a camera unit. The example shown in FIG. 24Ddepicts three application modules 2404, 2405, and 2407 releasablycoupled together in a stacked configuration. The application module 2404at the bottom of the stack of three application modules is shownreleasably coupled to a base station 202, and the application module2407 at the top of the stack of three application modules is shownreleasably coupled to a camera unit 2406. Although FIG. 24D depictsthree application modules, the modular method and system is not limitedto a specific number of application modules and any number ofapplication modules may be coupled together in a stacked configurationas needed to provide a desired functionality or set of functionalities.The modular assembly can be customized specifically to suit the desiredneed simply by selecting application modules having the desiredfunctionalities.

In some embodiments, the base station or application modules can havethe same or different diameters and thicknesses. For example, a firstapplication module configured to couple to the base station that may bedisposed at the bottom of a stack of a plurality of application modulescan have a larger diameter than a second application module connected tothe top surface of the first application module.

FIG. 24E depicts a top view of an embodiment of two application modules2405 and 2407 and FIG. 24F depicts a bottom view of an embodiment of oneapplication module 2407 and a top view of an embodiment of a secondapplication module 2405. As shown in FIG. 24E and FIG. 24F, each basestation or application module can include a first connector 2410 on atop surface of the base station or application module and a secondconnector 2411 on a bottom surface of the base station or applicationmodule. The first connector 2410 can be configured to engage or connectwith the second connector 2411. In this manner, each base station orapplication module can be coupled, engaged, or connected to another basestation or application module in a stacked configuration such that thetop connectors and bottom connectors of adjacent modules matingly engageto form a connection. Each base station or application module can beconfigured to have the same first connector 2410 on each of theirrespective top surfaces as the base station and each of the otherapplication modules. Similarly, each base station and application modulecan be configured to have the same connector 2411 on each of theirrespective bottom surfaces to facilitate coupling with differentmodules. In a preferable embodiment, the first connector 2410 is afemale connector while the second connector 2411 is a male connector.The male connector 2411 disposed on a bottom surface of a base station202 can be configured to couple with or connect to a connector disposedon a support member such as a streetlight or a utility pole.

FIGS. 25A-B depict an additional embodiments of a modular streetlightassembly including a base station, an application module, and a cameraunit.

FIG. 25A depicts another example of a modular streetlight assemblyincluding a base station, an application module, and a camera unit. Themodular streetlight assembly may be mounted atop a streetlight or othersupport member using a base station 202, as described herein. The basestation may include a plurality of electrical connections for drawingelectrical power from, sending signals to and/or receiving signals fromthe streetlight or other structure. The modular streetlight assembly mayfurther include a camera unit 2402. The camera unit may include one ormore cameras 2408, as described herein. The camera unit may include one,two, three, four, or more than four cameras. The cameras may be arrangedto provide a 360 degree view around the camera unit.

The modular streetlight assembly may further include an applicationmodule 2404. The application module may be mounted between the basestation and the camera unit. Alternatively, the application module maybe mounted on top of the base station and the camera unit, or the cameraunit may be part of the application module and not the base station. Theapplication module may be any of the modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514,515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528,529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and/or 541described herein.

FIG. 25B depicts a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of amodular streetlight assembly including a base station, an applicationmodule, and a camera unit.

FIG. 26 depicts a modular streetlight assembly mounted atop astreetlight, as described herein. The modular streetlight assembly mayinclude a base station 202 and a camera unit 2402. Alternatively, themodular streetlight assembly may include a base station 202, anapplication module 2404, and a camera unit 2402, and each of thesecomponents may be attached or coupled together in any order.Alternatively, the modular streetlight assembly may include a basestation 202, an application module 2404, and a hollow cap 2406, and eachof these components may be attached or coupled together in any order.The modular streetlight assembly may be mounted atop a streetlight 2600.Alternatively, the modular streetlight assembly may be mounted atopanother support member (such as a traffic light, utility pole, tower,communications station pole, road sign display monitor, building, tree,billboard, bridge, house, apartment building, commercial building,industrial building, car, truck, other vehicle, or the like), asdescribed herein.

FIG. 27 depicts an example base station attached to an example supportmember featuring a second application module attached to a firstapplication module. The support member 200 may include a streetlight onany other support member (such as a traffic light, utility pole, tower,communications station pole, road sign display monitor, building, tree,billboard, bridge, house, apartment building, commercial building,industrial building, car, truck, other vehicle, or the like) describedherein. A first application module 500 a (for instance, any of themodules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522,523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536,537, 538, 539, 540, and/or 541) may be attached to the base station. Asecond application module 500 b (for instance, any of the modules 510,511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524,525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538,539, 540, and/or 541) may be attached to the first application module. Athird application module (not shown) may be attached to the secondapplication module 500 b. A fourth application module (not shown) may beattached to the third application module. Any additional number ofapplication modules may be utilized, with each successive applicationmodule attached to the previously attached application module. Eachsuccessive application module may be stacked on top of the previousapplication module in similar fashion as application module 500 b isstacked on top of module 500 a.

Although many of the examples have described the base station 202 asattaching to a support member (such as a streetlight) near a top orupward facing portion of the support member, the base station may alsobe mounted at one or more alternative locations on a support member. Forexample, when a base station is mounted to a parking lot light or to astreetlight, the base station may be mounted interior of the pole of theparking lot light or the streetlight.

FIG. 28 depicts an example base station mounted interior of a pole of asupport member. The base station 2804, which may be similar to basestation 202 and provide the same or similar functionality as describedearlier herein with reference to base station 202, may be mountedinterior of a pole 2806, which may correspond to a parking lot light, astreetlight, a traffic light, or another support member, as describedherein. The base station 2804 may be the same or similar to base station202, described herein, with the exception that the base station 2804 maynot include the receptacle or plug. Base station 2804 may have analternative power connection component as compared to the plug orreceptacle of base station 202. Base station 2804 may be mounted on aninside surface of the pole or to an appropriate support member interiorof the pole, and may be mounted in a vicinity to a door or cover 2802 ofthe pole, which may be opened to provide access to an interior of thepole. The door or cover may be lockable so that unauthorized access tothe interior of the pole is prevented. The components of the basestation 2806 may be powered by electrical energy received from thestreetlight assembly via an electrical connection to the base station2806.

Also depicted in FIG. 28 is an application module 508 mounted near thetop of the support member. The application module may correspond to anyof the application modules 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518,519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532,533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, and/or 541 discussed herein,except that the application module may not mount directly to the basestation. The application module 11 may provide functionality asdescribed with reference to any of application modules 510, 511, 512,513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526,527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540,and/or 541 or combinations thereof. The application module may bepowered in a variety of ways. The application module may draw power fromthe support member. The application module may include circuitry formanaging an external energy generation unit (not shown in FIG. 28 ),such as a solar power energy generation unit, a wind power energygeneration unit, a hydroelectric power energy generation unit, or otherappropriate energy generation unit, as described herein. The applicationmodule may be powered by the base station, for instance by wiredconnection or wireless connection. The application module may be batterypowered. The application module may include a motion detect sensor that,when motion is detected, causes one or more luminaires of a lightingassembly (for examples in which the support member is a lightingassembly), to illuminate or increase an intensity of illumination. Theapplication module may include one or more cameras or other sensors thatmay be activated in response to detected motion for security purposes,for example. Images, video, audio, or combinations of the foregoing maybe transmitted by the application module, as described herein.

As described herein, the base station, application module, or both maybe powered by electrical energy provided by a support member (such as astreetlight, traffic light, parking lot light, message board, displaymonitor, building, and the like). The base station, application module,or both, may be powered by alternative arrangements. For example,alternate power sources located in cars/trucks andcommercial-retail/industrial/residential buildings can be utilized andcan allow the base station or application module to achieve theirrespective functionalities as described herein. The alternative powersources may include, for example, 120V AC for houses, jobsites, andcommercial purposes and 12V for ground vehicles such as cars and trucks.To utilize these power sources, an ANSI twist plug may be employed tosecure the base station or application module to a circular base. Thecircular base may include a plug for a standard three prong 120V plugand a separate plug for a 12V cord that can plug into a vehicle'scigarette lighter. The 120V power lead can connect to the ANSI plug ofthe base station or application module and the 12 volt lead can go upthrough a separate connection to the base station's or applicationmodule's 12V to 5V transformer.

FIG. 29 is a view of an example streetlight assembly including astreetlight housing and one or more luminaires. The streetlight 2900 mayinclude a streetlight housing 2901 and one or more luminaires 2904. Thestreetlight assembly may include an optical sensor 2907 (such as aphotocell or other appropriate optical sensor) attached to thestreetlight assembly in a conventional manner. In some cases thestreetlight assembly may not include the optical sensor. The streetlighthousing may be attached to a streetlight pole 102 via a connectingsupport member 2906.

The streetlight assembly may further include a base station 2902 that isattached to the streetlight housing 901. Base station 2902 may besimilar to base station 202 described herein (for instance, infunctionality, appearance or both). Base station 2902 may not include afirst electrical plug or receptacle. Base station 2902 may bemechanically mounted to the streetlight housing, to a connection supportmember 2906, or the streetlight pole, using any appropriate mountinghardware or component. Base station 902 may be powered by one or morepower generation components. Base station 2902 may include one or morebatteries that may be charged by the one or more power generationcomponents. For example, the base station 2902 may be powered by one ormore light energy collection devices, which may collect light energy andconvert the light energy to electrical energy to power the base station2902 or to charge the one or more batteries of the base station 2902.

The streetlight assembly may further include a first light energycollection device 2903 a and a second light energy collection device2903 b. The streetlight assembly may include more or fewer light energycollection devices (such as zero, one, three, four, or more than fourlight energy collection devices). The first light energy collectiondevice may be mounted to the streetlight housing, and the second lightenergy collection device may be mounted to the streetlight housing, orin some examples to an underside of a globe 2905 of the streetlightassembly. Each of the light energy collection devices may include one ormore photovoltaic cells capable of receiving incident light energy andconverting the received light energy to electrical energy. Each of thelight energy collection devices may be electrically coupled to the basestation 2902, such that the electrical energy generated based on thereceived light energy may be used to power the base station 2902 or tocharge one or more batteries of the base station 2902. The light energycollection devices may be coupled to the base station 2902 via anelectrical coupling. The electrical coupling or couplings between thelight energy collection devices and the base station 2902 may be, forexample, one or more wires or other electrically conductive components(such as conductive bars, strips, bands, cables, conductive traces,conductive flex components, and the like).

The first light energy collection device may be mounted to a generallyupward-facing surface of the streetlight housing, and may collect lightenergy from the sun or from light-producing devices in the vicinity ofthe streetlight. The second first light energy collection device may bemounted such that it may collect light energy from the one or moreluminaires 2904 of the streetlight assembly. Each of the light energycollection devices may have any appropriate size and any appropriateshape (such as square, rectangular, circular, donut-shape surroundingthe base station, or another appropriate shape).

One or more application modules may be mounted to base station 2902 in asimilar manner as described herein with reference to base station 202.Base station 2902 may include a subset of the components describedherein with respect to base station 202, such as a reduced subset ofcomponents as compared to base station 202. The light energy collectiondevices may be replaced by, or augmented with, one or more of a windpower energy generation unit, a hydroelectric power energy generationunit, or another appropriate energy generation unit. The depictedexample shows a base station, but it will be understood that anapplication module may similarly be powered by one or more light energycollection devices or alternative power generation components.

Any of the functionality described herein with reference tocommunication stations may be included, for example, in an applicationmodule 500. Any of the features described herein may be included with anunmanned aerial vehicle communication or management module 510, or withan autonomous ground vehicle communication or management module 511(with the functionality generally applied to ground-based vehicles asopposed to aerial vehicles, as described herein). For any of the modularfunctionality described herein as being provided across two or moremodules, similar or equivalent functionality may be provided by a singlemodule (such as by a base station or a communication station) byinclusion of appropriate components and features within a single module.

Described herein are systems, devices and methods that can be used forone or more of managing unmanned aerial vehicle access to (for instance,relating to one or more of ingress entry, egress departure, and movementwithin the airspace) private property airspace, public propertyairspace, and restricted airspace; establishing, implementing, andmanaging permissions for an unmanned aerial vehicle to enter or departprivate property airspace, public property airspace, and restrictedairspace; providing communications with unmanned aerial vehicles;providing information to, and receiving information from, unmannedaerial vehicles; aiding unmanned aerial vehicles; logging, chronicling,or validating routes of unmanned aerial vehicles; managing aspects ofunmanned aerial vehicle traffic; alleviating, reducing, or mitigatingprivacy concerns associated with unmanned aerial vehicles; checking orvalidating registration or license information for unmanned aerialvehicles; improving reliability of unmanned aerial vehicle operations;sensing or monitoring for unmanned aerial vehicles; and improving publicsafety conditions associated with unmanned aerial vehicle operations. Ingeneral, the techniques, systems, and devices discussed herein may beused with any type of unmanned aerial vehicle, drone, unmanned aircraft,remotely piloted or remotely operated aircraft, or unmanned aircraftsystem, without limitation. For simplicity, the examples discussedherein will generically refer to unmanned aerial vehicles.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are aircraft that fly without a humanpilot onboard the aircraft and have been used for many differentpurposes. While military-grade UAVs have long existed for carrying outmilitary operations or special operations applications, it is expectedthat general-purpose UAVs may become increasingly common in day-to-daylife. For example, UAVs may be used for various civil applications (suchas police departments, fire departments, search and rescue departments,and/or disaster response), recreational applications, commercialapplications, or other applications in the future. As one example of apotential future commercial use, some businesses have considered usingUAVs to perform delivery functions currently being performed byground-based delivery personnel who deliver goods via car, truck,bicycle, or by foot. Such deliveries may be from a retailer or warehouselocation to a consumer's residence, for example, or from a retailer orwarehouse to another business (related to a business-to-businesstransaction).

Unmanned aerial vehicles typically use aerodynamic forces to providelift and permit the aircraft to achieve flight. Some UAVs include one ormore fixed wings; some UAVs include one or more rotary blades or rotors;and some UAVs include both one or more fixed wings and one or morerotary blades or rotors. Some UAVs can take off and land without directhuman assistance, while others require some form of human assistance,such as to assist in lifting off or taking flight initially. Some UAVsare gas (or other type of fuel) powered, while others are batterypowered. Some UAVs are powered by a combination of gas- or fuel powerand battery power.

UAVs can have many shapes, sizes, styles, and levels of complexity.Military-grade UAVs have tended to be large, complex, and expensive, andhave been equipped to fly for long distances without refueling orrecharging. For example, some versions of the Predator drone are 27 feetlong with wingspans of nearly 50 feet have a payload capacity of over1000 pounds, weigh over 2000 pounds when loaded, have a flight range ofnearly 700 miles, and have a unit cost of about $4 million. It isexpected that many UAVs to be used for commercial or other purposes, bycontrast, will be much smaller, simpler, less expensive, and have a muchsmaller flight range. For example, some versions of an “octocopter” UAV,which includes eight small rotors, are about the size of sometraditional remote-controlled airplanes, are battery powered, have apayload capacity of about five pounds, and have a flight range of aboutten miles. Other delivery UAVs have been proposed that would have apayload capacity of up to 55 pounds, and a somewhat longer flight range.

Traditionally, UAVs have been controlled or piloted in real time by aground-based operator, who controls or partially controls the UAV usinga ground-based control system. Communications between the ground-basedcontrol system and the UAV can occur over one or more wireless datalinksor communication paths. In some cases, the communication signals caninclude one or more video channels or feeds. In some examples, satellitecommunications can be used, where communications from the ground-basedcontrol system to the UAV, and vice versa, pass though one or moreorbiting satellites. Alternatively, communications from the ground-basedcontrol system to the UAV, and vice versa, may pass over one or morenetworks or communication links, such as one or more cellular or otherphone-based networks, over remote control radio frequency links, UHF orL-band frequency links, microwave frequency links, or other appropriatedatalinks, networks, or communication paths.

Some UAVs are equipped with autopilot functionality to autonomouslycontrol their flight using one or more onboard computers and associatedsensors and other navigational instrumentation and control circuitry.Autonomously controlled UAVs typically receive positional updates viareceived Global Positioning System (GPS) signals. However, some types ofGPS and other satellite-based communications can be susceptible to poorweather conditions, can be restricted to areas that have a line-of-sightto an appropriate satellite, or can be susceptible to jamming, spoofing,or hacking attacks. In some examples, UAVs that fly autonomously sendand/or receive information over one or more wireless datalinks,networks, or communication paths such as, for example, one or more ofthe datalinks, networks, or communication links discussed above. In someexamples, combinations of the foregoing communications methods can beused.

FIG. 30 depicts an example flight path of an unmanned aerial vehiclefrom an initial location on the flight path, through a second locationon the flight path, to a third location on the flight path. The unmannedaerial vehicle 3002 proceeds from an initial location 3004 a to a secondlocation 3004 b to a third location 3004 c. An example base station 202may be mounted on an example support member 102. The base station mayhave a UAV management module 510 mounted or otherwise operativelycoupled to it. A lateral boundary 3006 is depicted, which may representa left boundary of a designated airspace, for example. Similarly, afirst vertical boundary 3008, which may represent a lower boundary ofthe designated airspace, and a second vertical boundary 3010, which mayrepresent an upper boundary of the designated airspace, are depicted. Inthe depicted example, the unmanned aerial vehicle is shown departingfrom the designated area at a location 3012 (indicated by an “X” in FIG.30 ) and following a flight path 3011 to arrive at the second location.At the second location, the unmanned aerial vehicle is at a distance3016 from the designated area (for instance, a distance 3016 outside ofthe lateral boundary 3006 of the designated area). In the depictedexample, the unmanned aerial vehicle is shown returning to thedesignated area at a location 3014 (indicated by an “X” in FIG. 30 ) andfollowing a flight path 3013 to arrive at the third location. The flightpath (as well as flight information preceding the first location andfollowing the third location) may be captured or recorded by one or morecameras of the module UAV management module (or the base station), asdescribed herein. The UAV management module (or the base station) mayanalyze the captured video.

FIG. 31 is a view of a screen capture of a video that can be provided bya UAV management module. The video may include the captured footage ofthe unmanned aerial vehicle showing the flight path of the unmannedaerial vehicle. The video may also show information derived fromanalysis of the video and added to the video to augment the video andprovide additional information. For example, a trajectory or path 3102may be displayed, so that even after the unmanned aerial vehicle reachesthe third location, the trajectory or path may remain displayed for aperiod of time in the augmented video provided by the UAV managementmodule (or base station). The video may further display firstinformation 3104, which may include one or more of a location where theunmanned aerial vehicle departed from the designated area and a time atwhich the departure occurred. The video may further display secondinformation 3106, which may include one or more of a location where theunmanned aerial vehicle returned to the designated area and a time atwhich the return occurred. The video may further display thirdinformation 3108 and an indicator 3110, which may include a maximumdeviation distance that the unmanned aerial vehicle strayed from thedesignated area, for example, and a graphical indication of thedistance. The video may further include fourth information 3112, whichmay include an amount of time that the unmanned aerial vehicle spentoutside of the designated area. Indications of the various boundaries3006, 3008, 3010, or other boundaries may also be displayed.

The examples described in relation to FIGS. 30 and 31 relate to an eventof a lateral departure from a designated area; however, the UAVmanagement module (or base station) may conduct a similar analysis andprovide a similar augmented video for other events including a verticaldeparture (for instance, above or below an altitude boundary) from adesignated area, for entry into a prohibited area, or the like. In somecases, an augmented video that includes trajectories or flight paths oftwo or more unmanned aerial vehicles may be provided, such as inresponse to a midair collision of UAVs.

FIG. 32 is a conceptual diagram of an example unmanned aerial vehicleflight environment and an example system for communicating with unmannedaerial vehicles operating within (or outside of) the environment. Theenvironment 3200 may represent, without limitation, a portion of a town,city, or metropolitan area, for example. In general, communicationsstations 3201 (for instance, stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and 3201 f, though any number of communications stations may bepresent) can be used to communicate with UAVs. The communicationsstations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and 3201 f may bepositioned on streetlights, traffic lights, utility poles, towers (suchas cell towers), communications station poles, road signs or displaymonitors, buildings, trees, billboards, bridges, or other structureswithin a proximity of a roadway or a right-of-way. The communicationsstations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and 3201 f may alsoprovide information to, and receive information from, UAVs; aid UAVs;log, chronicle, or validate routes of UAVs; manage aspects of UAVtraffic; alleviate, reduce, or mitigate privacy concerns associated withUAVs; check or validate registration information for UAVs; sense ormonitor for UAVs; improve reliability of UAV operations; and/or improvepublic safety conditions associated with UAV operations.

A roadway 3202 is bounded by a first roadway edge 3204 a and a secondroadway edge 3204 b, and is associated with a right-of-way 3206, whichis defined by a first right-of-way boundary 3208 a and a secondright-of-way boundary 3208 b. The right-of-way may be a publicright-of-way. The right-of-way may be a legal right-of-way. In thedepicted example, the roadway is located within the right-of-way, and isroughly centered between the boundaries of the right-of-way. The roadwaymay have a width (i.e., the distance between edges 3204 a and 3204 b) ofabout 24 feet to about 32 feet for a two-lane roadway, and theright-of-way may have a width (i.e., the distance between boundaries3208 a and 3208 b) of about 35 feet to about 60 feet, for example. Forsimplicity, the roadway is depicted as a two-lane highway or road, butin may have more (such as three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,ten, eleven, twelve, or more) or fewer (such as one or zero) lanes, andmay be an interstate highway, a federal or state highway, a county road,a city street, or the like. The roadway may have any appropriate width,and the right-of-way may similarly have any appropriate width. Theroadway may be contained within right-of-way or one or more portions ofthe roadway may extend outside of the right-of-way.

The first right-of-way boundary 3208 a and the first roadway edge 3204 amay define a first right-of-way zone 3210 a therebetween, and the secondright-of-way boundary 3208 b and the second roadway edge 3204 b maydefine a second right-of-way zone 3210 b therebetween. As one example,for two-lane roadway, the roadway may have a width of about 32 feet andthe right-of-way may have a width of about 60 feet. The roadway maygenerally be centered within the right-of-way, so that the firstright-of-way zone has a width of about 14 feet and the secondright-of-way zone has a width of about 14 feet. As described herein, thesystems, devices, and methods discussed herein may facilitate UAVtraffic in the airspace or airspaces above one or more of the firstright-of-way zone and the second right-of-way zone (or above otherright-of-ways or right-of-way zones).

The environment may also include a second roadway 3212, bounded byroadway edges 3214 a and 3214 b, and a second right-of-way 3216, definedby boundaries 3218 a and 3218 b. Right-of-way zones 3219 a and 3219 bmay be defined between roadway edge 3214 a and boundary 3218 a, andbetween roadway edge 3214 b and boundary 3218 b, respectively. Theenvironment may similarly include a third roadway 3220, bounded byroadway edges 3222 a and 3222 b, and a third right-of-way 3224, definedby boundaries 3226 a and 3226 b. Right-of-way zones 3228 a and 3228 bmay be defined between roadway edge 3222 a and boundary 3226 a, andbetween roadway edge 3222 b and boundary 3226 b, respectively. The thirdroadway may include a bridge 3229.

Several cars or trucks 3230 may be driving on the roadways 3202, 3212,and 3220, and several pedestrians 3232 may be walking on a sidewalk3234. The pedestrians may be approaching or departing from a retailstore 3236 or an office building 3238. A tree 3240 and a billboard 3242may be present. The tree may be located just outside of the secondright-of-way zone 3210 b. Due to the location of the tree, some of thebranches and leaves 3244 of the tree may protrude into the airspaceabove right-of-way-zone 3210 b. The billboard may be located near thesecond right-of-way zone 3210 b. A second tree 3243 may be located infirst right-of-way zone 3210 a.

A first lighting assembly 3244 a may be located within a proximity of aroadway, or of a right-of-way, or both. The first lighting assembly maybe a streetlight, and may include a luminaire 3245 and a pole 3246 (forinstance, a light pole). Communications station 3201 a may be associatedwith the lighting assembly 3244 a. Communications station 3201 a may beassociated with light pole 3246 (for instance, attached to the lightpole).

The communications station 3201 a may communicate with a UAV 3250operating in the environment. The communications station 3201 a maycommunicate with UAVs 3250 as they fly in the environment, such as whenthe UAV flies in a vicinity or within communications range of thecommunications station 3201 a. The communications station 3201 a maybroadcast a first message that includes an identifier associated withthe communications station 3201 a, with the first lighting assembly 3244a, or with both the communications station 3201 a and the first lightingassembly 3244 a. The UAV may receive the first message from thecommunications station 3201 a, and may transmit a second message thatincludes an identifier associated with the UAV, which may be received bythe communications station 3201 a. In various implementations, thecommunications station 3201 a may transmit a third message, for receiptby the UAV, that includes an indication of an altitude at which the UAVshould fly, as described herein.

The UAV may communicate with the first communications station 3201 awhen it is in a vicinity of the first communications station, and maycommunicate with a second communications station 3201 b when it is in avicinity of the second communications station. A second lightingassembly 3244 b may be also located within a proximity of the roadway3202 (and the right-of-way 3206), and a second communications station3201 b may be associated with the second lighting assembly 3244 b(attached to the lighting assembly 3244 b). As the UAV flies in adirection 3258, for example, the UAV may communicate with communicationsstation 3201 a while in a vicinity of the communications station 3201 a,and may communicate with communications station 3201 b while in avicinity of the communications station 3201 b.

A communications handoff of the UAV from the first communicationsstation 3201 a to the second communications station 3201 b may beexecuted. For example, as the UAV flies in direction 3258 away from thefirst communications station 3201 a and towards the secondcommunications station 3201 b, one or more of communications station3201 a or 3201 b may determine that communications station 3201 b shouldassume a larger communications role with the UAV, and/or thatcommunications station 3201 a should assume a smaller communicationsrole with the UAV (or both). This determination may occur at or aboutthe time that the UAV reaches a location that is closer to the secondcommunications station 3201 b than to the first communications station3201 a. The UAV may communicate with both communications station 3201 aand communications station 3201 b. One or more of the communicationsstations 3201 a or 3201 b may inform the UAV which of the communicationsstations 3201 a or 3201 b may be considered a primary communicationsstation for the UAV at a given time. The UAV may make a determination asto which of the communications stations 3201 a or 3201 b it willcommunicate with or will primarily communicate with (for instance, basedon signal strengths of received signals from one or more of thestations, based on flight route and station locations, based on currentor expected UAV location, or other factors). As discussed herein,communications stations can communicate with one another, for exampleover one or more networks, such as any of the networks discussed hereinor other appropriate networks.

A third lighting assembly 3244 c may be located within a proximity ofroadway 3212 and right-of-way 3216, and a third communications station3201 c may be associated with the lighting assembly 3244 c (forinstance, attached to the lighting assembly 3244 c). A fourth lightingassembly 3244 d may be similarly located within a proximity of roadway3212 and right-of-way 3216, and a fourth communications station 3201 dmay be associated with the lighting assembly 3244 d (attached to thelighting assembly 144 d in this example). A fifth lighting assembly 3244e may be located within a proximity of roadway 3220 and right-of-way3224, and a fifth communications station 3201 e may associated with thelighting assembly 3244 e (for instance, attached to the lightingassembly 3244 e). A pole 3247 may be also located within a proximity ofroadway 3220 and right-of-way 3224. A sixth communications station 3201f may be associated with the pole 3247. Pole 3247 may be a utility pole.Pole 3247 may be a communications or communications station pole.

As the UAV proceeds along its flight path, it may communicate withcommunications stations (for instance, one or more of communicationsstations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and 3201 f) along theway. The particular communications station may initiate communicationswith the UAV. The UAV 150 may initiate communications with theparticular communications station.

The communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may provide altitude information to the UAV. For example,a communications station may provide an indication of altitude to theUAV. The indication of altitude may include an altitude that the UAV iscurrently flying at. The communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c,3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f may include one or more sensors that thecommunications stations may use to determine an altitude that the UAV isflying at. The communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may determine the altitude based on informationthat is included in a message received by the communications stationfrom the UAV. For example, the message received from the UAV may includea location identifier (such as one or more GPS coordinates or one ormore latitude, longitude, and/or elevation indications) that provides anindication of an altitude of the UAV. The communications stations 3201a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f may determine thealtitude based on a location indicator of the unmanned aerial vehicleand on a location identifier associated with the lighting assembly orcommunications station (such as one or more GPS coordinates or elevationor altitude indications for the lighting assembly or communicationsstation).

The indication of an altitude can include an altitude or an altituderange that the UAV should fly at, or an identifier of an air corridor inwhich the UAV should fly, as described herein. The communicationsstations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f mayprovide an indication of an altitude, an altitude range, or of one ormore air corridors that the UAV should avoid flying at or in.

Other information that can be provided by the communications stations3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f to the UAV mayinclude indications of one or more obstacles that the UAV may encounterduring its flight, or that the UAV should avoid during its flight. Forexample, the communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may provide the UAV with an indication of theoffice building 3238 or of the retail store 3236, of the trees 3240 or3243, or of the branches 3244 that protrude into the airspace of theright-of-way 3210 b, of the billboard 3242, of the bridge 3229, ofutility poles or power lines, traffic lights, construction equipment(such as large cranes), mountains or hills, or of other obstacles orimpediments that the UAV should avoid during its flight. In someexamples, the indications of obstacles may include a location identifier(such as one or more GPS coordinates or one or more latitude andlongitude indications or latitude, longitude, an elevation indications)associated with the corresponding obstacle.

The communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may provide an indication of a landing area 3256 (forinstance, an emergency landing area or safe landing area) where it maybe safe for the UAV to land should the UAV need to make an unscheduledlanding. The indication of the landing area may include a locationidentifier (such as one or more GPS coordinates or one or more latitudeand longitude or latitude, longitude, and elevation indications)associated with the landing area. The indication of the landing area mayinclude directions to the landing area based on a current location orposition of the UAV. The landing area may include one or more chargingstations, and a UAV may use one of the charging stations to recharge oneor more batteries of the UAV. In some examples, the landing area or aportion of the landing area may overlap a portion of a right-of-way (forinstance, right of way 3206) or may overlap a portion of a right-of-wayzone (for instance, zone 3210 b).

The communications stations may provide an indication of a package hubarea 3257, which may correspond to a package pick-up or drop-offlocation or area. For example, when the UAV is used to deliver packages,the communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may provide an indication of a package hub area 3257 whereone or more retailers may drop off merchandise or packages to bedelivered by a delivery service or company that utilizes UAVs to deliverthe merchandise or packages. The indication provided by thecommunications stations may include a location identifier (such as oneor more GPS coordinates or one or more latitude and longitude orlatitude, longitude, and elevation indications) for the package hubarea. The indication may include directions to the package hub areabased on a current location or position of the UAV. The package hub areamay include one or more warehouses (not shown in FIG. 32 ). In someexamples, a single retailer may use the package hub area to stagepackage delivery; in other cases, several retailers may use the packagehub area to stage package delivery. The package hub area may include oneor more charging stations, and a UAV may use one of the chargingstations to recharge one or more batteries of the UAV. The package hubarea or a portion of the package hub area may overlap a portion of aright-of-way (such as right of way 3206) or may overlap a portion of aright-of-way zone (such as zone 3210 b).

In some cases, UAVs may fly directly from point-to-point (such asdirectly from a warehouse to a residence) without regard forright-of-ways or right-of-way zones, or with only partial regard forright-of-ways or right-of-way zones, and in such cases thecommunications stations discussed herein may communicate with the UAVsin similar manners as discussed herein, including providing any of theinformation discussed herein to the UAV or receiving any of theinformation discussed herein from the UAV, without limitation.

The communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may provide an indication of weather to the UAV. Forexample, the communications stations may provide a localized (such as inthe area of the communications stations or the UAV) indication of windspeed and/or wind direction, which the UAV may use to make navigationalcorrections. The communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may provide indications of severe weather warningsor conditions. The communications stations may be equipped with one ormore sensors that can sense one or more weather conditions. Thecommunications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or3201 f may convey the one or more sensed weather conditions to the UAV,such as by a wireless message. The communications stations 3201 a, 3201b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f may receive a message (forinstance, from a remote weather station or weather service) thatincludes weather-related information, and the communications stationsmay transmit a message to the UAV that includes the weather-relatedinformation. Examples of weather related information that can beconveyed from the communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f to the UAV can include, without limitation,wind speeds and wind directions, visibility levels, severe weatherwarnings, indications of lightning, indications of temperature,indications of humidity, and/or indications of hail, sleet, snow, orrain.

The communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may provide the UAV with an indication of one or moreareas to avoid, or one or more no-fly zones where the UAV may not bepermitted to fly. A no-fly zone 3259 is depicted in FIG. 32 . The no-flyzone may be a permanent no-fly zone, such as an area corresponding to anairport, a high security area (such as the White House, Pentagon,military installation or base, or the like), or areas where UAVs may beunwelcome (such as near schools, near some businesses, near an athleticstadium, or near an historic site). The no-fly zone may correspond to anarea that is temporarily restricted due to a temporary condition orsituation. Examples of such temporary conditions or situations caninclude, without limitation, natural disasters (such as earthquakes,tornados, hurricanes, typhoons, or floods) or other weather-relatedconditions, emergencies (such as fires, accidents, police or emergencyresponse situations, and the like), congested areas (such as congesteddue to UAV traffic, ground-based vehicle traffic, pedestrian traffic orgatherings, or the like), restricted areas, areas for which a threat hasbeen identified or received, or areas associated with a temporary dangeror cause for concern. In some cases, the communications stations 3201 a,3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f may inform the UAV of analternate route to bypass the no-fly zone or the one or more areas toavoid. In some examples, if a communications station determines that aUAV is flying in a no-fly zone, is flying within a predetermineddistance of a no-fly zone, or appears to be on course towards a no-flyzone, the communications station may transmit a warning message forreceipt by the UAV. Upon such a determination, the communicationsstation may transmit a warning message for receipt by one or more of apolice or fire department, civil airspace authority, Federal AviationAdministration, a first responder, a security department, an owner ofthe UAV, or the like. The communications station may store an indicationof the UAV (such as an identification or registration number) in amemory location of the communications station. The communicationsstation may issue a ticket or fine to a UAV that violates one or more ofthe no fly zone restrictions. The communications station may transmit amessage that includes information regarding the ticket or fine forreceipt by one or more of the offending UAV, by a control center 3248remote from the communications station, by a police department, or by anowner or operator of the UAV. The communications station may store anindication of the ticket or fine in a memory location of thecommunications station.

No-fly zones may be imposed during recurring periods of time, such aseach day from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM, or each day from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM,or each day from 6:00 PM to 7:00 AM. For example, a city or localgovernment may determine that there should not be UAV traffic duringcertain hours (for instance, during hours in which a “UAV curfew”applies), and may impose a UAV no-fly zone over a portion or all of thecity during the appropriate times. The communications stations 3201 a,3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f may communicate suchno-fly zone information (for instance, one or more of locations, times,and the like) to UAVs.

The communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may provide an indication of speed to the UAV. Forexample, a communications station may determine a speed that the UAV isflying at (i.e., a velocity of the UAV), and may provide an indicationof the determined speed to the UAV. The communications station mayinclude one or more sensors that may be used to determine a velocity ofthe UAV. The communications station may determine a velocity of the UAVbased on information received from the UAV. For example, if the UAVprovides an indication of its location in first and second messages fromthe UAV to the communications station, the communications station maycalculate a distance travelled by the UAV over a period of time (such asthe time between messages), and may calculate the velocity by dividingthe distance travelled by the period of time. The time period betweenthe two messages may be determined based on when the messages werereceived by the communications station, and in some examples may bedetermined based on information included with the messages, such as oneor more time stamps.

The communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may provide the UAV with an indication of a speed limit,or of multiple speed limits (such as an upper limit and a lower limit),for an area proximate the communications station or for an area that theUAV is flying in, flying towards, or destined for. The UAV may use thisspeed information to make appropriate adjustments to comply with theprovided information, for example. Speed limits at which UAVs may flymay vary throughout the environment 3200. For example, the firstcommunications station 3201 a may communicate one or more first speedlimits when communicating with a UAV based on prevailing speed limitsfor an area associated with the first communications station 3201 a (orwith the first lighting assembly 3244 a), while the secondcommunications station 3201 b may communicate one or more second speedlimits (which may differ from the first speed limits) when communicatingwith the UAV based on prevailing speed limits for an area associatedwith the second communications station 3201 b (or with the secondlighting assembly 3244 b). The communications station 3201 a, 3201 b,3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f may issue a speeding ticket orfine to a UAV that violates one or more of the speed limits orrestrictions. The communications station may transmit a message thatincludes information regarding the speeding ticket or fine for receiptby one or more of the offending UAV, by a control center 3248 remotefrom the communications station, by a police department, or by an owneror operator of the UAV. The communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f may store an indication of the ticketor fine in a memory location of the communications station.

The communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may provide an indication of a noise level or sound levelto the UAV. For example, the communications station may provide anindication of a maximum permissible noise or sound level associated withoperation of the UAV. The communications station may provide anindication of an emissions level to the UAV. For example, thecommunications station may provide an indication of a maximumpermissible emissions level associated with operation of the UAV (forUAVs that are gas-powered or otherwise emit emissions). The UAV may usethis noise or emissions information to make appropriate adjustments tocomply with the provided information, for example. Similar to the speedlimits discussed herein, noise levels or emissions levels may vary fordifferent areas, and different communications stations may communicatethe levels associated with their particular area or location, forexample. A communications station may issue a noise ticket or fine or anemissions ticket or fine to a UAV that violates one or more of the noiseor emission limits or restrictions. The communications station maytransmit a message that includes information regarding the noise ticketor fine or the emissions ticket or fine for receipt by one or more ofthe offending UAV, by a control center 3248 remote from thecommunications station, by a police department, or by an owner oroperator of the UAV. The communications station may store an indicationof the ticket or fine in a memory location of the communicationsstation.

The communications station 13201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may log, chronicle, or validate a route of the UAV. Forexample, the communications stations may store, in a memory location ofthe communications stations, one or more of an identifier associatedwith the UAV, an indication that the UAV was in communication with thecommunications station, or an indication that the UAV flew in a vicinityof the communications station. In some examples, the communicationsstations may store one or more time stamps or time indications alongwith one or more of the foregoing to establish the relevant time ortimes that the UAV was interacting with or in a vicinity of thecommunications stations. As the UAV flies its route, for example, eachof communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or3201 f along the route may log, chronicle, or record an indication thatthe UAV was in communication with the communications station, andoptionally the time or times at which the communications occurred. Inthis manner, an unbiased and verifiable record of UAV flight patterns oractivity may be collected and stored, which may validate that the UAVflew its intended route. Such records may be used to alleviate privacyconcerns, for example, and may permit companies that use UAVs to provideproof that the UAVs operated as expected.

The communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f may transmit a message for receipt by a control center3248 remote from the lighting assembly 3244 or communications station.The message may include the identifier associated with the UAV, andoptionally the time stamp. The control center may aggregate suchmessages, which may be received by the control center from one or moreof communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e,and/or 3201 f (for instance, from all of the communications stations 101within a city or within a portion of a city, region, neighborhood, orthe like). The control center may use the received messages to mapflight paths or activities of the corresponding UAVs. A single controlcenter may communicate with all or substantially all of thecommunications stations within a city or region. In other cases, a citymay include multiple control centers. The UAV may store one or moreindications of its communications with one or more communicationsstations in a memory location on the UAV.

One or more of communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may receive a message with information concerninga UAV and an expected route of the UAV. In some examples, such messagesmay be received from UAVs, and in other examples such messages may bereceived from a control center or from a business that operates UAVs.The message may indicate an identifier for the UAV, and a time, timewindow, or time range during which the UAV is expected to be in avicinity of, and/or in communication with, the communications station.The communications stations may monitor this time, time window, or timerange, and if the UAV fails to communicate with the communicationsstation at the identified time or during the time window or time range,the communications station may transmit one or more messages in responseto the failure to communicate. For example, the communications stationmay transmit a warning message to alert that the UAV has not been incontact with the communications station at the expected time or duringthe expected time window or range. A communications station maycommunicate with one or more other communications stations and attemptto locate the unaccounted-for UAV based on communications that may havebeen established between the one or more other communications stationsand the unaccounted-for UAV.

Communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or3201 f may determine whether a UAV has a valid or current registrationor license. For example, a communications station may request aregistration or license identifier from the UAV, and may receive amessage from the UAV that includes a registration or license identifierof the UA. The communications stations may compare the receivedregistration or license identifier from the UAV with a list of valid (orin some examples, invalid) registration or license identifiers. Thecommunications stations may store a list of registration or licenseidentifiers in a memory of the communications station, and may comparereceived registration or license identifiers with identifiers on thestored list. The communications station may determine validity orinvalidity of the registration identifier based on the identifier itselfor information or a designator or code within the identifier. In any ofthese or other manners, the communications stations may determinewhether the received registration or license identifier is valid orinvalid (for instance, expired).

One or more of communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f, upon receiving the registration or licenseidentifier from the UAV, may communicate with a control center 3248remote from the communications station, to authenticate or validate theregistration or license identifier of the UAV, or to determine that theregistration or license identifier is invalid. For example, thecommunications stations may transmit a message for receipt by thecontrol center that includes the received registration or licenseidentifier from the UAV. The communications stations may then receivefrom the control center a message that includes an indication (forinstance, valid or invalid) regarding the registration or licenseidentifier from the UAV. The control center may provide a list, and thecommunications stations may compare the UAV registration or licenseidentifier to the list and make a determination regarding the UAV'scompliance.

If the UAV has an invalid registration or license, communicationsstation 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, and/or 3201 f maytransmit a message to the UAV informing the UAV that it has an invalidregistration or license, for example. In some cases, the communicationsstation may transmit a message for receipt by a communications device atpolice department (such as at a police station, police vehicle, or witha police officer) or civil airspace authority (or other appropriateauthority), to inform that the UAV has invalid registration or license.The communications station may issue a “ticket” or fine due to theexpired or invalid registration or license. The communications stationmay store an indication of the ticket or fine in a memory location ofthe communications station, may transmit a message for receipt by theUAV or by a police communications unit or civil airspace authority, ormay transmit a message for receipt by a control center 3248 or by acommand station associated with the UAV (for instance, at a commandstation for the company that operates the UAV). Such tickets may also beissued by the communications station for violations of speed limits,emissions levels, noise levels, no-fly zones, or for other infractionsdiscussed herein.

One or more of communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may determine that the registration or license iscurrently valid, but that it will be expiring soon. In such cases, thecommunications station may transmit a message for receipt by the UAV (orby a command station associated with the UAV) to inform the UAV that itsregistration or license will be expiring soon. Such a message mayinclude the date of expiration, for example.

The techniques, systems, and devices discussed herein may be used topromote, direct, or enforce UAV traffic management features, such asrequiring, advising, or providing information to assist UAVs to flywithin particular airspaces. As one example, a communications stationmay require, advise, or provide information to a UAV to assist that theUAV flies in one or more particular air corridors. The air corridor mayrefer to an airspace generally bounded laterally or horizontally (suchas an airspace bounded to the left and to the right), and in someexamples also bounded vertically (such as an airspace that includes alower boundary, an upper boundary, or both lower and upper boundaries).

One or more of communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may provide a UAV with information that instructsthe UAV to fly within one or more air corridors located above one ormore of the right-of-way zones (such as zones 3210 a, 3210 b, 3219 a,3219 b, 3228 a, or 3228 b) described herein. Such air corridors may bebounded or defined, to the left or the right, by a boundary of aright-of-way or by an edge of a roadway (or by the airspace directlyabove the boundary or edge), for example, or in some cases may bebounded or defined by a predetermined lateral extension applied to aboundary of a right-of-way or an edge of a roadway (for instance, 2feet, 5 feet, 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, or another appropriate lateralextension).

One or more of communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may provide the UAV with location informationassociated with an air corridor, or with an airspace in which the UAVshould fly. For example, the communications station may provide one ormore GPS coordinates or other location indicators (such as latitude andlongitude information, or latitude, longitude, and elevationinformation) associated with one or more corridors (for instance,corresponding to a left or right boundary of the corridor, orcorresponding to an upper or lower boundary of the corridor, or one ormore combinations of the foregoing).

One or more of communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may provide the UAV with positional informationregarding a position or location of the UAV, or regarding a position orlocation of the UAV with respect to an air corridor, to an air corridorboundary, to a right-of-way boundary, or to an airspace in which the UAVshould fly. For example, the communications station may determine aposition or location of the UAV (for instance, based on one or moresensor readings from one or more sensors of the communications station,or based on information provided by the UAV in a message), and maydetermine that the UAV is not flying where it should be flying (such asoutside of a particular air corridor or airspace in which the UAV shouldbe flying).

One or more of communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may send a message to the UAV informing the UAVthat the UAV is not flying in the particular air corridor or airspace inwhich the UAV should be flying. The communications station may send amessage to the UAV that includes one or more positional or locationidentifiers, or one or more airspace identifiers. The UAV may use thisinformation to adjust its route so that the UAV may fly in a proper aircorridor or airspace. The communications station may send a message tothe UAV that includes directions on how the UAV should adjust its routeso that the UAV may fly in the proper air corridor or airspace. Thecommunications station may issue a “ticket” or fine when the UAV fliesoutside of a prescribed area or an area that the UAV should be flying in(for instance, if the UAV is flying at the wrong altitude, in anincorrect altitude range, or in an incorrect air corridor). Thecommunications station may store an indication of the ticket or fine ina memory location of the communications station, may transmit a messagefor receipt by the UAV or by a police communications unit, civilairspace authority unit, or control center 3248, or may transmit amessage for receipt by a command station associated with the UAV (forinstance, at a command station for the company that operates the UAV).The communications station may hold, detain, or restrict a UAV fromproceeding until it assumes a proper altitude (such within a properaltitude range or air corridor). For example, the communications stationmay send a message to the UAV that informs the UAV that it may notproceed on its route until the UAV begins to fly at a proper altitude,altitude range, or within a proper air corridor. If and when the UAVcomplies, the communications station may release its hold on the UAV(for instance, by sending a message to the UAV that informs the UAV itmay proceed), and the UAV may proceed on its route.

Referring again to FIG. 32 , the UAV may be located in an airspaceassociated with the right-of-way 3206. In particular, the UAV may beflying in an airspace bounded laterally by the right-of-way boundaries3208 a and 3208 b (for instance, by a vertical extension of theboundaries 3208 a and 3208 b). In the depicted example, the UAV isadditionally located in an airspace associated with the right-of-wayzone 3210 a, and is flying in an airspace bounded laterally by theright-of-way boundary 3208 a and the roadway edge 3204 a (for instance,bounded by vertical extensions 3252 and 3254, respectively, of theboundary 3208 a and the roadway edge 3204 a).

The air corridors may further be bounded or defined, from above andbelow, by appropriate altitude levels, such as a predetermined minimumaltitude level and a predetermined maximum altitude level. Example upperand lower altitude boundaries for the air corridors might be, forexample: a first corridor with a lower altitude boundary of 100 feetabove ground level (AGL) and an upper altitude boundary of 150 feet AGL;a second corridor with a lower altitude boundary of 150 feet AGL and anupper altitude boundary of 200 feet AGL; a third corridor with a loweraltitude boundary of 200 feet AGL and an upper altitude boundary of 250feet AGL; a fourth corridor with a lower altitude boundary of 250 feetAGL and an upper altitude boundary of 300 feet AGL; a fifth corridorwith a lower altitude boundary of 300 feet. AGL and an upper altitudeboundary of 350 feet AGL; and a sixth corridor with a lower altitudeboundary of 350 feet AGL and an upper altitude boundary of 400 feet AGL,where each of the first through sixth corridors are bounded on the leftby an airspace above right-of-way boundary 3208 a and on the right by anairspace above roadway edge 3204 a (or alternatively by an airspaceabove right-of-way boundary 3208 b).

In some cases, a single air corridor may be defined above a right-of-wayzone (for instance, above zone 3210 a, 3210 b, 3219 a, 3219 b, 3228 a,or 3228 b), having upper and lower boundary 400 feet and 100 feet,respectively. One or more of the air corridors (such as the first,second, and third corridors) may be reserved for UAV traffic in a firstdirection, and one or more of the air corridors (such as the fourth,fifth, and sixth corridors) may be reserved for UAV traffic in a seconddirection (for instance, in a direction opposite of the firstdirection). As another example, the first, third, and fifth corridorsmay be reserved for UAV traffic in a first direction, and the second,fourth, and sixth corridors may be reserved for UAV traffic in a seconddirection (for instance, in a direction opposite of the firstdirection).

One or more of communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may direct traffic or provide traffic managementinformation such that all or substantially all UAV traffic in anairspace above a right-of-way zone travels in the same direction. Thecommunications stations may direct traffic or provide traffic managementinformation such that all or substantially all UAV traffic in anairspace associated with a right-of-way zone flows in a directionconsistent with vehicular traffic near the right-of-way zone. Forexample, the communications stations may direct traffic or providetraffic management information such that UAV traffic in a firstdirection 3261 is confined to the airspace above right-of-way zone 3210b, and that UAV traffic in a second (opposite) direction 3262 isconfined to the airspace above right-of-way zone 3210 a. Such UAVtraffic in the directions 3261 and 3262 may be consistent with thevehicular traffic in the traffic lanes of roadway 3202 nearest therespective right-of-way zones 3210 a and 3210 b.

As described herein, a given communications station may be incommunication with several UAVs at a given time or during a given windowof time. For example, first communications station 3201 a may maintaincontact or communications with each of the UAVs within a proximity ofthe communications station 3201 a, within a predetermined distance fromthe communications station 3201 a, within communications range of thecommunications station 3201 a, or for which the communications station3201 a is the station nearest the UAV's location at a given time. Assuch, the communications station 3201 a may maintain or have visibilityto the location or position of each of the UAVs that the communicationsstation 3201 a is in contact or in communication with at a given time orduring a given window of time.

Communications station 3201 a may determine that a first UAV is tooclose to a second UAV (such as within a predetermined distance of thesecond UAV, or vice versa), and may send a warning message to one orboth of the first UAV and the second UAV. The communications station3201 a may determine one or more navigational adjustments for one orboth of the first UAV and the second UAV, and may communicate the one ormore navigational adjustments to the first UAV or the second UAV, or maycommunicate a first navigational adjustment to the first UAV and asecond navigational adjustment to the second UAV. The first UAV, secondUAV, or both UAVs may use the one or more navigational adjustments toalter a position or route, for example, to maintain a safe distancebetween the UAVs and/or avoid a collision between the UAVs. This mayreduce collisions between UAVs and improve safety relating to UAVoperating conditions.

A UAV may request permission from a communications station to flyoutside of a designated area (for instance, outside of a prescribedairspace above a right-of-way or outside of a prescribed airspace abovea right-of-way zone). For example, the UAV may be delivering a packageto a personal residence, and may need to fly outside of a prescribedairspace to make the delivery, as described herein. In delivering thepackage to a residence, the UAV may temporarily need to fly outside of aright-of-way airspace. The communications station may receive therequest, and may grant permission for the UAV to fly outside of theprescribed airspace. The communications station may monitor the UAV toensure that the UAV returns to the prescribed airspace within apredetermined period of time. In some cases, the UAV may not requestpermission from the communications station to fly outside of adesignated area.

The techniques, systems, and devices discussed herein may instruct,advise, or inform a UAV regarding flying in an airspace above aright-of-way, such as directly above right-of-way 3206, 3216, or 3224,or within a predetermined distance outside of a space directly aboveright-of-way 3206, 3216, or 3224. The techniques, systems, and devicesdiscussed herein may instruct, advise, or inform a UAV regarding flyingin an airspace above one of the right-of-way zones 3210 a, 3210 b, 3219a, 3219 b, 3228 a, or 3228 b. For example, the UAV may be flying in anairspace directly above one of the right-of-way zones 3210 a, 3210 b,3219 a, 3219 b, 3228 a or 3228 b, or within a predetermined distanceoutside of a space directly above one of the right-of-way zones 3210 a,3210 b, 3219 a, 3219 b, 3228 a or 3228 b, such as a lateral extension tothe zone.

FIG. 33 is a conceptual diagram of example air corridors. Shown in FIG.33 is the roadway 3202 and right-of-way that includes right-of-way zones3210 a and 3210 b of FIG. 32 . Also shown from FIG. 32 are the verticalextensions 3252 and 3254, respectively, of the right-of-way boundary3208 a and the roadway edge 3204 a. A first air corridor 3303, locatedabove right-of-way zone 3210 a may be defined to have an example lowerboundary altitude (for instance, a predetermined minimum altitude) of100 feet AGL and an example upper boundary altitude (for instance, apredetermined maximum altitude) of 175 feet AGL; a second air corridor3304 may located directly above the first air corridor, and may bedefined to have an example lower boundary altitude of 175 feet AGL andan example upper boundary altitude of 250 feet AGL; a third air corridor3306 may be located directly above the second air corridor, and may bedefined to have an example lower boundary altitude of 250 feet AGL andan example upper boundary altitude of 325 feet AGL; and a fourth aircorridor 3308 may be located directly above the third air corridor, andmay be defined to have an example lower boundary altitude of 325 feetAGL and an example upper boundary altitude of 400 feet AGL. Forsimplicity, air corridors are depicted only above right-of-way zone 3210a, but similar air corridors may also be defined above right-of-way zone3210 b, for example. The altitude boundary levels discussed herein areintended to be illustrative, and any appropriate altitude boundaries maybe used for the air corridors. Also, while air corridors are describedherein as located above right-of-way zones, it will be understood thatthe air corridors described herein may exist across the entire width ofright-of-ways, above roadways, above combinations of the foregoing,above areas outside of right-of-ways, above areas adjacent toright-of-ways (such as areas outside of or included in a lateralextension of a right-of-way), above areas detached from a right-of-way,or above any appropriate area.

One or more of communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may transmit a message for receipt by the UAV thatincludes an altitude at which the UAV should fly. For example, themessage may instruct the UAV as to a particular air corridor in whichthat the UAV should fly. The message may instruct the UAV to fly withinan altitude range, for example within the altitude range of 200 feet AGLto 300 feet AGL. The information included in the message from thecommunications station may include an indicator of a right-of-way or ofa right-of-way zone. The information included in the message from thecommunications station may include an indicator of a direction oftravel.

One or more of communications stations 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may make a determination regarding an appropriateair corridor or indicator of right-of-way or right-of-way zone,direction of travel, or altitude range based on local UAV traffic levelsin some implementations, or based on one or more other factors includingpredetermined UAV flight patterns, weather conditions, the style or typeof UAV, and others. The communications station may coordinate UAVtraffic in an area proximate the communications station in a manneranalogous to how an air traffic controller coordinates aircraft trafficin a vicinity of an airport. In some examples, for each UAV that entersan area proximate the communications station or for which thecommunications station is responsible, the communications station mayprovide information regarding where the UAV should fly.

By facilitating UAV traffic in airspace above right-of-way zones, safeand predictable operating conditions may be promoted. For example, UAVsgenerally restricted to flying above right-of-way zones may cause lessdamage if they lose control and crash within the right-of-way zones, asopposed to crashing on a roadway or in an area frequented bypedestrians. Landing areas, such as landing area 3256 (see FIG. 32 ),including emergency landing areas or safe landing areas should a UAVneed to make an unscheduled landing, may also be communicated to theUAVs, as described herein. Also, by facilitating UAV traffic accordingto particular air corridors, UAV traffic congestion may be bettermanaged and potential for UAV collisions may be reduced or minimized.

By facilitating or confining UAV traffic to or substantially toairspaces above right-of-ways or right-of-way zones for all or for aportion of a UAV's flight route, privacy concerns relating to UAVs maybe reduced or alleviated. For example, by restricting UAVs to generallyfly in airspaces above such right-of-ways or above such right-of-wayzones, the public may be less concerned about privacy invasion,intrusive surveillance, or potential for nuisance that might be causedby UAVs flying unregulated or without restriction regarding where theUAV may fly in relation to private residences or private property. Itwill be understood that, in general, for UAV flight routes, such as forUAVs making deliveries of packages to private residences or tobusinesses, or picking up or dropping off packages from package hubareas, or for other reasons, that the UAVs may have to fly above areasnot associated with right-of-ways during a portion of the UAV's flightroute.

One or more of communications station 3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d,3201 e, and/or 3201 f may operate as a UAV toll station. For example, acommunications station may assess a toll on UAVs that fly within aparticular airspace, such as within a particular air corridor. Thecommunications stations may store an indication of an identifierassociated with the UAV, and optionally an indication of the toll, in amemory location of the communications station. The communicationsstation may transmit a message that includes information regarding thetoll for receipt by one or more of the UAV, by the control center 3248remote from the communications station, or by an owner or operator ofthe UAV.

One or more of the air corridors may be an “express” corridor. Forexample, an owner or operator of a UAV may purchase a license or passthat may permit the UAV to fly in the designated express corridor, andthe communications station may limit access to the express corridor toonly those UAVs that have the license or pass to operate in the expresscorridor. If one or more communications stations determine that a UAV isflying in an express corridor without a license or pass that entitlesthe UAV to fly in the express corridor, the communications station mayissue a ticket or fine in a manner similar to those discussed hereinwith reference to other types of tickets or fines.

FIGS. 34A-C show conceptual diagrams of example communication stylesthat an example communications station can use to communicate with anexample UAV.

FIG. 34A shows a communications station associated with a lightingassembly in communication with a UAV via a wireless communication link.The communications station 3402 may be associated with a first lightingassembly 3400 a. The communications station may communicate with a UAV3404 via a direct wireless communication link 3406. The direct wirelesscommunication link may include, without limitation, a Bluetoothcommunication link, a near field communication (NFC) link, amachine-to-machine (M2M) communication link, a cellular link, anIEEE802-style (using any of the various IEEE802-based protocols)communication link, an infrared communication link, an ISM bandcommunication link, a radio frequency identification (RFID)communication link, or another appropriate direct wireless communicationlink.

FIG. 34B shows a communications station associated with a lightingassembly in communication with a UAV via a satellite communication link.The communications station 3402 may be associated with a second lightingassembly 3400 b. The communications station may communicate with the UAV3404 via a satellite communication link 3408, where communicationsbetween the communications station and the UAV pass through a satellite3410.

FIG. 34C shows a communications station associated with a lightingassembly in communication with a UAV via a networked communication link.The communications station 3402 may be associated with a third lightingassembly 3400 c. The communications station may communicate with the UAV3404 via a networked communication link 3412, where communicationsbetween the communications station and the UAV pass through one or morenetworks 3414 (illustrated by a “cloud” in FIG. 34C). Examples ofnetworks may include one or more cellular or other phone-based networks,the Internet, the “cloud” or one or more networks providing access tothe Internet or the cloud, one or more mesh networks, a local orwide-area network, a microwave network, a radio frequency network, orother appropriate datalinks or networks. The one or more networks mayinclude a public network and/or a private network.

In FIGS. 34A-C, the communications station 3402 is depicted near the topof the light pole of the lighting assembly. One advantage to locatingthe communications stations on lighting assemblies is that the lightingassemblies already are wired for power. Locating the communicationsstation near the top of the light pole may dissuade vandals fromattempting to tamper with, gain access to, damage, or misappropriate thecommunications station. In other examples, the communications station3402 may be located at other locations on the light pole or on thelighting assembly, such as nearer the luminaire as depicted in FIG. 34C.The communications station may be located on a generally horizontal orarched portion of the lighting assembly.

The lighting assembly 3400 a may similar to the lighting assemblies 3244depicted in FIG. 32 . FIGS. 3B and 3C show alternative lightingassemblies 3400 b and 3400 c, respectively, and in general thecommunications stations discussed herein may be associated with any typeof lighting assembly (such as a streetlight, parking lot light, trafficlight, or display monitor). Assembly 3400 b may include a luminaire 3416b that is generally located above the light pole of the assembly 3400 b.Assembly 3400 c may include a luminaire 3416 c generally shaped like apanel, for example. As described herein, the communications stationsalso or alternatively be located on traffic lights, utility poles,communications station poles, towers (such as cell towers), road signsor display monitors, buildings, trees, billboards, bridges, or otherstructures within a proximity of a roadway or a right-of-way. In somecases, the communications station may not be located within a proximityof a roadway or a right-of-way.

In some examples, a mobile communications station may be used. Forexample, a vehicle (such as a car, truck, van, or the like) may beequipped with a communications station as described herein or with thefunctionality of a communications station as described herein. Themobile communications station may be used to provide mechanical,electrical, or information technology support to a UAV, for example. Themobile communications station may be used to respond to UAVs that landin a safe landing area. The mobile communications station may providecharging services to a UAV that has landed, so that the UAV may rechargeits batteries, for example. The mobile communications station canretrieve UAVs that may be inoperable or otherwise unable to fly to theirintended destination or return to their base. The mobile communicationsstation may be in communication with one or more of the communicationsstation described herein (such as any of the communications stations3201 a, 3201 b, 3201 c, 3201 d, 3201 e, 3201 f, 3402, or othercommunications stations described herein).

FIG. 35 is a conceptual diagram depicting an example UAV receiving acharging signal from an example communications station. The UAV 3501 mayreceive a charging signal from the communications station 3500. The UAVmay be hovering relatively close to the communications station. Acharging unit 3503 of the communications station may transmit a chargingsignal 3504 for receipt by a charging module 3506 of the UAV. Thecharging module of the UAV may use energy received via the chargingsignal to charge one or more batteries 3508 of the UAV. In this manner,the UAV may wirelessly charge the one or more batteries of the UAVwithout returning to a base. The UAV may wirelessly charge the one ormore batteries of the UAV without landing (i.e., while remainingairborne). The wireless charging may be carried out by near fieldcharging (NFC) technologies or other appropriate charging technologies.

The UAV may hover relatively near the communications station, and maydrop or lower a communications or charge cord (not shown), that may makecontact with a portion of the communications station. The charging unitmay send a charge signal via the charge cord to provide wired chargingfor the UAV. The UAV may drop a cable or cord that may or may not makephysical contact with the communications station, but may be in closeproximity to the communications station, and may be used to provideultra-short range communications (such as messaging communications,wireless charging capability, and the like), which may permit the UAV tohover at a distance (such as several feet, yards, or meters from thecommunications station) yet permit the cable or cord, or a portion ofthe cable or cord to get much closer to the communications station (forinstance, within a couple of feet, within one foot, within a few inches,within an inch, or physically touching or contacting), to betterfacilitate wireless or contact-based charging. A releasable magneticcontact may be used to facilitate contact between a portion of the cableor cord and the communications station, for example.

The communications station may be attached to an example lightingassembly 3505 that includes a luminaire 3509. Dashed outline 3507 showsan example of an alternative location on the lighting assembly where thecommunications station may be located. The communications station may belocated at any other appropriate location on the lighting assembly.

The communications station may track a quantity associated with thecharging signal, such as an amount of energy provided by thecommunications station to the UAV, and a billing module 3510 of thecommunications station may cause a message to be transmitted thatincludes an indication of an identifier associated with the UAV and thequantity associated with the charging signal. In this fashion, UAVoperators may be billed an appropriate amount of money for their energyusage, for example.

The communications station may interrogate the UAV regarding a remainingbattery charge for one or more batteries of the UAV. The communicationsstation may interrogate the UAV regarding a fuel level for the UAV. Thecommunications station may assess, based on the response from the UAV,whether the UAV has sufficient battery power or fuel to reach itsintended destination. If the communications station determines that theUAV may not have sufficient battery power or fuel to reach its intendeddestination, the UAV may suggest (for instance, via a transmittedmessage) that the UAV charge its batteries (for instance, via thecommunications station as described herein), or may suggest that the UAVland in a safe landing area, where the UAV may refuel or recharge itsbatteries, or may obtain other assistance. As another example, thecommunications station may suggest that the UAV land near a locationwhere a mobile communications station is currently located.

A communications station may detect a presence of a UAV in a mannerother than by establishing communications with the UAV. For example, thecommunications stations may include one or more sensors that detect apresence of a UAV. The communications station may include one or morecameras that can detect a UAV, as by comparing a captured image of theUAV or of a portion of the UAV (such as an identification number orother identifier) with a stored image of a UAV or portion of a UAV.After the communications station has detected the presence of the UAV,the communications station may interact with the UAV in one or more ofthe ways discussed herein.

The communications station may include a first directional microphonethat may be directed generally upward (for instance, toward the sky),and a second directional microphone that may be directed generallydownward (for instance, toward the ground). The communications stationmay monitor signals provided by the first microphone and the secondmicrophone, and may subtract the signal of the second microphone fromthe signal of the first microphone. The communications station may usesound isolation or noise cancellation techniques to isolate thebackground sound to allow the detection of the UAV. The communicationsstation may compare the resulting signal with a stored signalrepresentation of a UAV to determine a presence of the UAV. After thecommunications station has detected the presence of the UAV, thecommunications station may interact with the UAV in one or more of theways discussed herein. In some examples, a single microphone may be usedto detect a presence of a UAV.

A communications station may detect a UAV (for instance, bycommunicating with the UAV, or as by detection using one or more camerasor microphones) that is unresponsive or uncooperative with thecommunications station. The communications station may store, in amemory location of the communications station, an indication of the UAVsuch as an identifier associated with the UAV, one or more photos orvideos that the communications station captures of the UAV (forinstance, using the one or more cameras discussed herein), or one ormore audio recordings that the communications station captures of theUAV (for instance, using one or more microphones). In some examples, thecommunications station may transmit a message with an indication of theunresponsive or uncooperative UAV, for receipt by a police unit, civilairspace authority unit, Federal Aviation Administration, or controlcenter or station remote from the communications station, for example.The message may include an identifier associated with the UAV, one ormore photos or videos of the UAV, and/or one or more audio recordingsassociated with the UAV, as well as an indication of the communicationsstation and/or with an area associated with the communications station(such as a location identifier or address).

The communications station may detect whether a UAV includes a weapon.For example, the communications station may capture a photo, image orvideo of the UAV, and compare with one or more stored photos, images, orvideos to determine that the UAV includes a weapon and may be a threat.The communications station may transmit a message with an indication ofthe UAV determined to include a weapon, for receipt by a police unit,civil airspace authority unit, Federal Aviation Administration, orcontrol center or station remote from the communications station, forexample. The message may include an identifier associated with the UAV,one or more photos or videos of the UAV, and/or one or more audiorecordings associated with the UAV, as well as an indication of thecommunications station and/or with an area associated with thecommunications station (such as a location identifier or address).

FIG. 36 is a block diagram 3600 of an example communications station.The communications station 3602 may correspond to any of thecommunications stations described herein. The communications station mayinclude a communications module 3604, which may include a communicationsreceiver 3606 that may receive wireless (or wired) messages and acommunications transmitter 3608 that may transmit wireless (or wired)messages. The communications receiver and communications transmitter mayreceive and transmit messages, respectively, over one or more antennas3610. The communications module may further include a security component3612, which may be used to encrypt or encode messages to be sent, todecrypt or decode received messages, and optionally to provide asecurity question and answer. The security component may provide forsecure communications between the communications station and a UAV, asdescribed herein.

The communications station may include a computation unit 3014 that mayinclude one or more processors capable of executing instructions (suchas software instructions, firmware instructions, or the like) andperform functions for the communications station. The communicationsstation may include location information 3616. For example, the locationinformation may include location information associated with thecommunications station, or associated with a lighting assembly (such asa lighting assembly that the communications station 252 is associatedwith). The location information may include, without limitation,location information associated with one or more roadways orright-of-ways, with one or more right-of-way zones, with one or more aircorridors, with one or more obstacles or impediments, with one or moresafe landing zones, with one or more delivery hub areas, with one ormore no-fly zones, and/or with one or more other communicationsstations. Examples of location information can include one or more GPScoordinates, one or more of latitude and longitude information orlatitude, longitude, and elevation information, one or more InternetProtocol (IP) addresses or other communications-based addresses, or thelike.

The communications station may include one or more sensors 3618. Forexample, the communications station may include one or more sensors thatcan determine wind velocity and/or wind direction. The communicationsstation may include other weather-related sensors (such as an ambientlight sensor, a precipitation sensor, a thermometer, an air qualitysensor, or the like). The communications station may include one or morealtitude-detecting or altitude-determining sensors that may be used todetermine an altitude at which a UAV is flying. The communicationsstation may include one or more position-detecting sensors that may beused to determine a position of a UAV. The communications station mayinclude one or more velocity-detecting sensors that may be used todetermine a velocity at which a UAV is flying, for example. Thecommunications station may include one or more cameras or microphones,for example.

The communications station may include a traffic management module 3620.The traffic management module may be used to manage UAV traffic, asdescribed herein. For example, the traffic management module maydetermine an appropriate altitude that a UAV should fly at, and thecommunications station may communicate an indication of the altitude tothe UAV. The traffic management module may determine an appropriate aircorridor that a UAV should fly in, and the communications station maycommunicate an indication of the air corridor to the UAV. The trafficmanagement module may determine an appropriate altitude range that a UAVshould fly within, and the communications station may communicate anindication of the altitude range to the UAV. The traffic managementmodule may determine that a UAV is not flying where it is supposed to beflying, and the communications module may transmit a message asdescribed herein. The traffic management module may determine a routefor a UAV, or an alternative route based on prevailing trafficconditions, congestion, in-force restrictions (such as one or moreno-fly zones), or the like. The traffic management module may determinethat that a first UAV is too close to a second UAV (such as within apredetermined distance of the second UAV, or vice versa), and thecommunications station may send a warning message to one or both of thefirst UAV and the second UAV.

The communications station may include a data store 3622 that may beused to store information, such as information received from one or moreUAVs, or information that the communications station uses in performingthe functions described herein. The communications station may store anidentifier associated with a UAV in the data store. The communicationsstation may store an identifier associated with a UAV and a time stampin the data store. The communications station may store an identifierassociated with a UAV in the data store after establishingcommunications with the UAV. The communications station may store routeinformation associated with a UAV in the data store. The communicationsstation may store registration information (for instance, for particularUAVs or registration lists) in the data store. The communicationsstation may store route information associated with a UAV in the datastore. The communications station may store information associated withother communications station in the data store. The communicationsstation may store photos, images, audio files or recordings, and/orother information in the data store. The communications station maystore information associated with a police department, fire department,civil airspace authority, Federal Aviation Authority, weather service,location service, control center, delivery hub area, mobilecommunications station, and/or delivery company in the data store. Thecommunications station may store information associated with a ticket orfine (such as a speeding ticket, noise ticket, emissions ticket, no-flyzone ticket, or the like) in the data store.

The communications station may include a charging unit 3624 that mayprovide a charging signal that a UAV can use to charge one or morebatteries of the UAV. A power source 3626 may provide one or morevoltages to the various electronic components of the communicationsstation. The communications station may be housed in an enclosure, whichmay be made of any appropriate material such as plastic, metal, graphiteor other composite material, or other appropriate materials. Theenclosure may protect the components of the communications station fromthe elements, and in some cases from nefarious attempts to gain physicalaccess to the communications station.

The lighting assembly with which the communications station isassociated may include a power meter that tracks an amount of power usedby the communications station (for instance, over a predetermined periodof time). The power meter may be included with the communicationsstation (not shown in FIG. 36 ). The power meter may be read orinterrogated to determine the amount of power used. The power meter maytransmit out such information for receipt by a utility company, forexample, or by a control center.

A first communications station may communicate with one or more othercommunications stations. For example, the first communications stationmay communicate with one or more other communications station within apredetermined distance of the first communication station at periodicintervals (such as once per minute, per two minutes, per five minutes,per ten minutes, per hour, or the like) to confirm that the one or moreother communications stations are operational (for instance, byreceiving a response message from the one or more other communicationsstations). In the event that one or more of the other communicationsstations is not operational or is inoperable (such as because of afailure), the first communications station may assume communicationsresponsibility for the one or more inoperable communications stations.For example, the first communications station may initiatecommunications with UAVs in a vicinity of the one or more failedcommunications stations in the manner that the failed communicationsstations would ordinarily communicate with the UAVs when operatingcorrectly. In this manner, a redundancy may be built into the system,which may provide for more robust performance. The first communicationsstation may store, in one or more memory locations of the firstcommunication station, information regarding the one or more othercommunications stations within the predetermined distance of the firstcommunication station to permit the first communications station toassume the communications responsibility if needed, for example.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of an example method that may be used tocommunicate with an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method 3700 may includethe steps of transmitting a first message including an identifierassociated with a lighting assembly, receiving a second messageincluding an identifier associated with a UAV, and transmitting a thirdmessage including an indication of an altitude at which a UAV shouldfly.

At a first step 3702, a first message may be transmitted for receipt bya UAV. The first message may include an identifier associated with alighting assembly. The first message may be transmitted via acommunications transmitter of a lighting assembly. The lighting assemblymay be located within a proximity of a roadway. The identifierassociated with the lighting assembly may be an identifier of thelighting assembly or of a communications station associated with thelighting assembly. The identifier may be a location indicator, such asone or more GPS coordinates, latitude and longitude information, orlatitude, longitude, and elevation information associated with thelighting assembly or with a communications station that is associatedwith the lighting assembly. The first message may include an indicationof weather. The first message may include an indication of speed (suchas a speed limit). The first message may include an indication of anoise level or of an emissions level. The first message may include anindication of one or more safe landing zones, or of one or more deliveryhub areas. The first message may include an indication of one or moreobstacles or impediments. The first message may include an indication ofa no-fly zone. In some cases, the first message may include anidentifier associated with a support member rather than with a lightingassembly.

A second message may be received, at a second step 3704, from the UAV.The second message may include identifier associated with the UAV. Thesecond message may include location information associated with the UAV(such as one or more GPS coordinates, latitude and longitudeinformation, or latitude, longitude, and elevation information of theUAV). The second message may include route information. The secondmessage may include information descriptive of the UAV, such as the typeof UAV, a company that the UAV is associated with, registrationinformation or license information for the UAV, and the like. The secondmessage may include a request for charging energy that the UAV can useto charge one or more batteries of the UAV.

At step 3706, a third message may be transmitted for receipt by the UAV.The third message may include an indication of an altitude at which theUAV should fly. The indication of the altitude at which the UAV shouldfly may include an indication of an air corridor, where the air corridoris associated with a predetermined minimum altitude and a predeterminedmaximum altitude. The third message may include an indication of analtitude of the UAV (e.g., an altitude that the UAV is currently flyingat). The third message may include one or more altitude levels. Forexample, the third message may include an altitude range to indicatethat the UAV should fly within the altitude range. The third message mayinclude an indication of direction (such as a heading or compassheading). In some examples, the third message may include an indicationof velocity, such as a velocity that the UAV is currently flying at orone or more speed limits (such as a maximum speed, a minimum speed, orboth). The third message may include one or more of the possible messageitems discussed herein with reference to the first message at step 3702.

Communications between a communications station and a UAV, or betweencommunications stations, or between a communications station and acontrol center or station or other entities discussed herein, mayinclude a security feature that may be used to help combat againstnefarious intent by unauthorized parties. For example, in addition tomessage encryption on the transmission side and decryption on thereceive side, transmitted messages may include a challenge question. Areceiver of the message may then interpret the challenge question andprovide an answer to the challenge question. If the receiver providesthe correct answer to the challenge question, the receiver may gaineffective access to a payload of the message, whereas if the receiverprovides an incorrect answer to the challenge question, the receiver maynot be able to access the payload of the message.

FIG. 38 illustrates an example of equipment that can be used toimplement an example heightened security communications protocol. Thesystem 3800 may include a plurality of module. A security/verificationmodule 3802 may create a challenge question and a corresponding answerto the challenge question, and a message payload module 3804 may createa payload for the message. A processor 3805 may receive the challengequestion and answer from the security/verification module and mayreceive the message payload from the message payload module. Theprocessor may arrange the message payload and forward it to anencryption/decryption module 3806. Some or all of the functions of themessage payload module may be performed by the processor. The payload,challenge question, and answer may be encrypted by theencryption/decryption module. The payload, challenge question, andanswer may be signed by the encryption/decryption module. Thereafter, atransmitter 3808 may transmit the message wirelessly via one or moreantennas 3810. Wired transmission may also be possible. The message maybe transmitted over one or more networks, or in one or more manners asdescribed herein.

A message may be wirelessly received via the one or more antennas at areceiver 3812. The receiver may deliver the encrypted message to theencryption/decryption module, where the message is authenticated and thepayload may be decrypted. The decrypted payload may then be delivered tothe processor, which may parse the payload and pass the payload to themessage payload module for parsing. The processor may also deliver thechallenge question to the security/verification module. Thesecurity/verification module may interpret the challenge question andreply with an answer to the question. The processor may verify that theresponse from the security/verification module matches the answerincluded in the message, and may process the payload if the answer iscorrect. If the answer is incorrect, the processor may not be able toprocess the payload. This may add an extra layer of security to standardencryption/decryption methods, and may add a specific check on security.An entity in charge of the communications stations may be the only partywith access to the security/verification module. Challenge-responsesecurity pairs may be one-time-use only, and may be time-limited. Thesecurity/verification module may need to provide a correct responsewithin a predetermined period of time; otherwise a timeout may preventfurther action.

If a security question is incorrectly answered one or more times (suchas at a UAV or at a communications station), or after a predeterminednumber of times, the communications station may notify police, civilairspace authorities, the Federal Aviation Administration, the controlcenter, or another appropriate authority. Some airspaces may be closeddown if it is determined that a threat condition exists. Closing anairspace may also occur when other emergency or threat conditionsdescribed herein occur (for instance, when it is determined that a UAVmight present a threat or might include a weapon).

Encryption and decryption provided by the encryption/decryption modulemay be sufficient to alleviate security concerns. However, in some casesthe extra security afforded by the challenge question (or securityquestion) and answer functionality may be desired. System componentsthat send messages may be configured to provide payloads and challengequestions and responses. System components that receive messages may beconfigured to receive and process the payloads and challenge questions.The communications algorithms used by the various components may includedetection of attempts by unauthorized parties to jam or hijack thesystem, as by a type of cyber-attack, or nuisance disturbances designedto trick the system. A single IP address may be used for communicationbetween components of the system. In some cases, two or more IPaddresses may be used for communication between components of thesystem. In addition, the IP address may be changed used forcommunication between components of the system may be changedperiodically every half hour, or every hour, or daily, or in any timeincrement as chosen to minimize the risk or to prevent the risk ofhacking into the system. Heightened security communications may not beneeded, and communications may occur without security questions andanswers.

Some or all of the techniques discussed herein may be used to supplementexisting UAV communications protocols. For example, for UAVs that relyprimarily on received GPS signals to navigate, some or all of thetechniques discussed herein may provide secondary, supplemental, orredundant information or support to the UAV at times when the UAV isunable to communicate (for instance, transmit, receive, or both) in itsprimary manner. This may provide a more robust operating environment forUAVs.

FIG. 39 is a conceptual diagram of an example unmanned aerial vehicleflight environment and an example system for communicating with unmannedaerial vehicles operating within the environment. The environment 3900may represent, without limitation, a portion of a town, city, ormetropolitan area. The environment may include a series of streets orroadways, where the streets or roadways may generally be located withinrights-of-ways (such as within public rights-of-ways,legal-rights-of-ways, or both). For simplicity, roadways, right-of-ways,and one or more right-of-way zones associated with the roadway and/orthe right-of-way are depicted as a single line in FIG. 39 . North/southroadways or right-of-ways are depicted and represented by numerals 3902,3904, 3905, 3906, 3908, 3910, and 3912. Similarly, east/west roadways orright-of-ways are depicted and represented by numerals 3914, 3916, 3918,3920, 3922, 3924, and 3926. A warehouse 3928 is located near theintersection of roadways or right-of-ways 3902 and 3914, and mayrepresent a retail delivery departure location, for example. UAVs maydepart from warehouse 3928 to deliver packages. The warehouse mayalternatively represent a delivery service provider or a package hubarea, as described herein. Twelve example communications stations(communications station A 3930, communications station B 3932,communications station C 3934, communications station D 3936,communications station E 3938, communications station F 3940,communications station G 3942, communications station H 3944,communications station I 3946, communications station J 3948,communications station K 3950, and communications station L 3952) aredepicted in the environment 3900. One or more of the communicationsstations 3930, 3932, 3934, 3936, 3938, 3940, 3942, 3944, 3946, 3948,3950, and 3952 may be associated with a lighting assembly, such as astreetlight, a traffic light, a parking lot light, a message board, orthe like, and may be attached to the lighting assembly. One or more ofthe communications stations may be associated with a building, abillboard, a tree, a bridge, a tower, a utility pole, a communicationspole, a road sign, or other structures. In some examples, thecommunications stations 3930, 3932, 3934, 3936, 3938, 3940, 3942, 3944,3946, 3948, 3950, and 3952 may correspond to any of the communicationsstations discussed herein. A plurality of residences 3954, 3956, 3958,3960, 3962, 3964, 3966, 3968, 3970, 3972, 3974, 3976 (for instance,houses, apartments, townhouses, condominiums, or the like) are depictedin the environment.

A UAV may follow a flight route 3978 to deliver a package from thewarehouse to the residence 3964. Route 3978 may begin at or near thewarehouse, crosses roadway or right-of-way 3914, proceed east until nearthe intersection of roadway or right-of-way 3904 and roadway orright-of-way 3914, turn south along roadway or right-of-way 3904 andcontinue to near the intersection of roadway or right-of-way 3904 androadway or right-of-way 3924, and turn east along roadway orright-of-way 3924, until arriving at residence 3964 (for instance,crossing over roadway or right-of-way 3924), where it may deliver thepackage.

As described herein, the UAV may generally fly within airspacesassociated with one or more of right-of-ways, right-of-way zones,roadways, or with any of the foregoing including lateral extensions tothe right-of-ways, right-of-way zones, or roadways. In general,communications stations 3930, 3932, 3934, 3936, 3938, 3940, 3942, 3944,3946, 3948, 3950, and 3952 may provide to the UAV any of the informationdescribed herein. The communications stations 3930, 3932, 3934, 3936,3938, 3940, 3942, 3944, 3946, 3948, 3950, and 3952 may also collectinformation from the UAV as described herein. The communicationsstations 3930, 3932, 3934, 3936, 3938, 3940, 3942, 3944, 3946, 3948,3950, and 3952 may provide information that instructs the UAV to fly ina particular airspace or air corridor. The communications stations 3930,3932, 3934, 3936, 3938, 3940, 3942, 3944, 3946, 3948, 3950, and 3952 mayalso log, chronicle, or record the route 3978 of the UAV, or may recordan indication of communications with the UAV or of the UAV's presence ina vicinity of a particular communications station, including anindication of the time or times that such communications occurred.

Communications station A may establish communications with the UAVbefore the UAV departs from the warehouse, and may initially be theprimary communications station for the UAV based on its proximity to theUAV's departure point as the UAV travels along its route. Communicationsstation A may remain the primary communications station for the UAVuntil the UAV reaches a location at or near the intersection of roadwayor right-of-way 3904 and roadway or right-of-way 3916, wherecommunications station D may take over for communications station A asthe primary communications station for the UAV. Communications station Dmay remain the primary communications station for the UAV until the UAVreaches a location at or near the intersection of roadway orright-of-way 3904 and roadway or right-of-way 3920, where communicationsstation G may take over for communications station D as the primarycommunications station for the UAV.

Communications station G may remain the primary communications stationfor the UAV until the UAV reaches a location at or near the intersectionof roadway or right-of-way 3904 and roadway or right-of-way 3924, wherecommunications station J may take over for communications station G asthe primary communications station for the UAV. Alternatively,communications station G may remain the primary communications stationfor the UAV until the UAV reaches a location at or near the intersectionof roadway or right-of-way 3905 and roadway or right-of-way 3924, wherecommunications station K may take over for communications station G asthe primary communications station for the UAV. Communications station Kmay remain the primary communications station for the UAV until the UAVreaches a location at or near the intersection of roadway orright-of-way 3908 and roadway or right-of-way 3924, where communicationsstation L may take over for communications station K as the primarycommunications station for the UAV. Communications station L may remainthe primary communications station for the UAV while the UAV deliversits package to residence 3964.

After making the delivery to the residence, the UAV may return to thewarehouse. The UAV may return in the opposite direction along route3978, for example, and may generally communicate with the communicationsstations described with reference to route 3978. The UAV may follow asimilar route to route 3978, but fly on the opposite sides of theroadways or right-of-ways as compared to the delivery route, so as to beflying in generally the same direction as the nearest ground-basedtraffic lane. So, for example, on its return flight from residence 3964to warehouse 3928, the UAV may fly along the north side of roadway orright-of-way 3924, along the east side of roadway or right-of-way 3904,and along the north side of roadway or right-of-way 3914, whilegenerally still following route 3978.

One or more residences may be associated with an aggregate delivery area3980 (labeled “A” in FIG. 39 ). For example, to facilitate easier UAVdelivery of packages, the residences 3966, 3968, 3970, 3972, 3974, and3976 may be associated with aggregate delivery area 3980, which maycorrespond to a location that a UAV may deliver packages for any of thecorresponding residences 3966, 3968, 3970, 3972, 3974, and 3976.Residences 3966, 3968, 3970, 3972, 3974, and 3976 may correspond toresidences on a particular block or in a particular neighborhood, forexample, or within a particular housing development or association, oraccording to any other appropriate grouping. In other cases, anaggregate delivery area may be used for one or more businesses orretailers, or combinations of residences and businesses or retailers.

In some examples, a UAV may follow a flight route 3982 to deliver apackage from the warehouse to the aggregate delivery area 3980. Route3982 may begin at or near the warehouse, cross roadway or right-of-way3914, proceed east until near the intersection of roadway orright-of-way 3910 and roadway or right-of-way 3914, turn south alongroadway or right-of-way 3910 and continue to near the intersection ofroadway or right-of-way 3910 and roadway or right-of-way 3926, and turneast along roadway or right-of-way 3926, until arriving at aggregatedelivery area 3980 (for instance, crossing over roadway or right-of-way3926).

Communications station A may establish communications with the UAVbefore the UAV departs from the warehouse, and may initially be theprimary communications station for the UAV based on its proximity to theUAV's departure point. Communications station A may remain the primarycommunications station for the UAV until the UAV reaches a location ator near the intersection of roadway or right-of-way 3905 and roadway orright-of-way 3914, where communications station B may take over forcommunications station A as the primary communications station for theUAV. Communications station B may remain the primary communicationsstation for the UAV until the UAV reaches a location at or near theintersection of roadway or right-of-way 3908 and roadway or right-of-way3914, where communications station C may take over for communicationsstation B as the primary communications station for the UAV.Communications station C may remain the primary communications stationfor the UAV until the UAV reaches a location at or near the intersectionof roadway or right-of-way 3910 and roadway or right-of-way 3916, wherecommunications station F may take over for communications station C asthe primary communications station for the UAV. Communications station Fmay remain the primary communications station for the UAV until the UAVreaches a location at or near the intersection of roadway orright-of-way 3910 and roadway or right-of-way 3920, where communicationsstation I may take over for communications station F as the primarycommunications station for the UAV. Communications station I may remainthe primary communications station for the UAV until the UAV reaches alocation at or near the intersection of roadway or right-of-way 3910 androadway or right-of-way 3924, where communications station L may takeover for communications station I as the primary communications stationfor the UAV. Communications station L may remain the primarycommunications station for the UAV while the UAV delivers its package toaggregate delivery area 3980.

One or more of the communications stations 3930, 3932, 3934, 3936, 3938,3940, 3942, 3944, 3946, 3948, 3950, and 3952 may communicate with oneanother (for instance, share information), and may communicate UAVtraffic information, such as general UAV traffic or congestion levels,UAV traffic or congestion levels associated with a particular aircorridor or group of air corridors, UAV traffic or congestion levelsassociated with a particular right-of-way or right-of-way zone, or UAVtraffic or congestion levels associated with a particular area of theenvironment (such as a particular neighborhood, an area in the vicinityof an event, situation, structure, or the like). A communicationsstation may use this traffic information to determine an appropriateroute or route adjustment for a UAV. For example, if UAV traffic isparticularly heavy along one or more portions of route 3978,communications station A (or another communications station) may insteadsuggest that the UAV fly south along roadway or right-of-way 3905, 3906,3908, 3910, or 3912, rather than along roadway or route 3904 (asdepicted in route 3978). The communications station A may communicatethis route or route adjustment, or another appropriate route adjustment,to the UAV, for example.

FIG. 40 is a block diagram 4000 of an example UAV. The example UAV 4002is depicted in a simplified representation, and may represent any of theUAVs discussed herein. The UAV may represent any of various types ofUAVs with which the communications stations discussed herein maycommunicate.

The UAV may include a communications module 4004, which may include acommunications receiver 4006 that may receive wireless messages and acommunications transmitter 4008 that may transmit wireless messages. Thecommunications receiver and communications transmitter may receive andtransmit messages, respectively, over one or more antennas 4009. Thecommunications module may further include a security component 4010,which may be used to encrypt or encode messages to be sent, decrypt ordecode received messages, and optionally to provide a security questionand answer, to provide for secure communications between acommunications station and the UAV, as described herein. In someexamples, wired communications can be used.

A computation unit 4012 may include one or more processors that mayexecute instructions (such as software instructions, firmwareinstructions, or the like) and perform functions for the UAV. The UAVmay include a flight control module 4014 that controls flight operationsfor the UAV. The flight control module 4014 may control operationsrelating to takeoff, landing, and in-flight operations. The flightcontrol module 4014 may control navigation operations for the UAV. Theflight control module may include navigational instrumentation. Theflight control module may respond to navigational commands (forinstance, from a communications station such as described herein, from aground-based control station or system, from a mobile control station orsystem, or the like), and implement them at the UAV. The UAV may includeone or more sensors 4016 that may be used to aid in aspects of operatingthe UAV. The UAV may include a propulsion unit 4018 that may be used forpropelling and providing altitude control and directional control forthe UAV.

The UAV may include a data store 4020 that may be used to storeinformation for aspects of UAV operation. Examples of information thatmay be stored in the data store may include, without limitation, routeinformation, communications station information, registration or licenseinformation, communications protocol information, weather information,map-related information, retailer order and delivery information,product information, permission information, and other information.

A charging module 4022 may be used to charge one or more batteries 4024of the UAV. The charging module may wirelessly receive a charging signalfrom a communications station, as described herein. The UAV may rechargeone or more of its batteries while airborne, as by receiving a chargingsignal from a communications station described herein. Wired chargingmay also be used. The one or more batteries may provide propulsion powerto the UAV and one or more voltages for operating the electroniccomponents of the UAV. In some examples, the UAV may be powered by gasor by another appropriate fuel, to provide propulsion power.

The UAV may include a parachute (not shown), and a parachute deploymentmodule (not shown). The parachute deployment module of the UAV maydetermine that the UAV should deploy its parachute, which may assist theUAV in landing. The UAV 502 may receive a message from a communicationsstation (such as a communications station described herein) thatinstructs the parachute deployment module of the UAV to deploy theparachute of the UAV.

The UAV may include an airbag (not shown), and an airbag deploymentmodule (not shown). The airbag deployment module of the UAV maydetermine that the UAV should deploy its airbag, which may partially orcompletely surround the UAV and protect the UAV, and which may assistthe UAV in landing. For example, the airbag may protect the UAV or limitdamage to the UAV in a crash landing, as well as potentially protectingor minimizing damage or injury to pedestrians, vehicles, or property.The UAV may receive a message from a communications station (such as acommunications station described herein) that instructs the airbagdeployment module of the UAV to deploy the airbag of the UAV. In someexamples, the airbag may be deployed in combination with a deployment ofthe parachute, as discussed herein.

Various communications protocols may be used between the communicationsstations discussed herein and a UAV. The communications station maytransmit or emit a beacon message periodically (for instance, once persecond, once per couple seconds, once per five seconds, once per 10seconds, once per 15 seconds, once per 20 seconds, once per 25 seconds,once per 30 seconds, once per minute, or the like), and a UAV mayreceive the beacon message and reply by transmitting a message forreceipt by the communications station. The message may be encrypted orunencrypted. The UAV may receive the message, which may include any ofthe information discussed herein, and may not reply to thecommunications station.

The UAV may transmit or emit a beacon message periodically (forinstance, once per second, once per couple seconds, once per fiveseconds, once per 10 seconds, once per 15 seconds, once per 20 seconds,once per 25 seconds, once per 30 seconds, once per minute, or the like)and a communications station may receive the beacon message and reply bytransmitting a message for receipt by the UAV. The message may beencrypted or unencrypted. In implementations where the UAV periodicallytransmits a beacon message, the beacon message may include, for example,one or more of a license number for the UAV, an FAA registration numberfor the FAA, a serial number of the UAV, a make of the UAV, a model ofthe UAV, a year of manufacture of the UAV, a type of the UAV, a class ofthe UAV, an owner of the UAV, a pilot of the UAV, an exemption numberfor the UAV or associated with a flight or route of the UAV, insuranceinformation, task information, permitted use information, routeinformation, destination information, origination information, or otherappropriate information. Any of the foregoing types of information maybe included in other messages transmitted by the UAV, such as messagesafter a communication session has already been established with acommunications station, for example.

The communications stations or communications devices described herein,and/or the UAVs described herein, may include one or more of thefollowing components: processors, memory (such as random access memory(RAM) and/or other forms of volatile memory), storage devices (such assolid-state hard drive, hard disc drive, and/or other forms ofnon-volatile memory), high-speed interfaces connecting variouscomponents to each other (such as connecting one or more processors tomemory and/or to high-speed expansion ports), and/or low speedinterfaces connecting various components to each other (such asconnecting one or more processors to a low speed bus and/or storagedevices). Such components may be interconnected using various busses,and may be mounted across one or more motherboards or circuit boardsthat are communicatively connected to each other, or in otherappropriate manners.

FIG. 41 is a conceptual diagram of an example environment that includesa designated or prescribed airspace and airspace associated with privateproperty. The example environment 4100 may include a designated orprescribed airspace 4102 and airspace associated with private property4104 (such as real estate property). Designated or prescribed airspacemay correspond to airspace where an unmanned aerial vehicle is generallypermitted to fly (such as airspace associated with a right-of-way,airspace associated with a roadway, airspace associated with a trafficcorridor, airspace associated with an air corridor, lateral extensionsof the foregoing, or another area where an unmanned aerial vehicle isgenerally permitted to fly). Private property may correspond to aresidential lot that includes a residence 4106, a yard 4108, and/or adriveway 4110. Private property is generically depicted to haverectangular shape with property boundaries 4111 a, 4111 b, 4111 c, and4111 d in this example, but in other examples private property may haveany appropriate size and shape and may be defined by any appropriatenumber of boundaries. Restricted area 4112 may correspond to an areawhere drones are restricted from flying according to one or more rules.For instance, restricted area 4112 may be a no-fly zone, as describedherein. In some cases, restricted area 4112 may have less restrictiveconditions on access than a no-fly zone. Restricted area 4112 may haveany appropriate size or shape, and may include buildings, structures,and the like. Restricted area 4112 may be permanent, with one or morerestrictions on access that are generally ongoing, and in some examplesrestricted area 4112 may be temporary, with one or more restrictions onaccess that are expected to be lifted after a period of time or at aconclusion of an event, occurrence or situation. Public property 4113may correspond to property (such as, real estate property) owned by anon-private entity, and may include one or more manmade structures insome examples. Examples of public property 4113 may include a city park,state park, national park, a local, state or national governmentbuilding or structure, or other public properties. Restricted area 4112may correspond to private property or public property.

An unmanned aerial vehicle may generally be prohibited, absent grantedpermission, to fly in airspace associated with private property (such asairspace above private property 4104 or above private property 4104below a predetermined altitude, such as 500 feet AGL, 400 feet AGL, 300feet AGL, 200 feet AGL, 100 feet AGL, or another appropriate altitude)or airspace of restricted area 4112 or public property 4113. Suchrestriction on flying by the UAV may be based on local or municipalrules, restrictions, ordinances, or the like, or such restriction onflying by the UAV may be based on state or national rules orrestrictions.

Described herein are methods, systems, and devices for managing unmannedaerial vehicle access to private property airspace, public propertyairspace, or restricted airspace. Described herein further are methods,systems, and devices for registering, establishing, implementing andmanaging permissions for an unmanned aerial vehicle to enter or exitprivate property airspace, public property airspace, or restrictedairspace, and for registering, establishing, implementing and managingpermissions for delivery areas, pickup areas, landing areas, liftoffareas (or combinations of the foregoing) for unmanned aerial vehicles.The examples that follow describe how a private property owner orrepresentative may establish rules for access to airspace above theirproperty, but similarly an authorized user could establish rules foraccess to airspace above public property 4113 or above restricted area4112.

A user (such as a property owner) may register unmanned aerial vehicleaccess rights to property or to airspace associated with a property(such as airspace above real estate property). For example, methods,systems and devices may be provided to permit the owner of privateproperty 4104 to register unmanned aerial vehicle access rights(including delivery, pickup, landing, and/or liftoff rights) to privateproperty 4104 (such as to airspace above private property 4104), or to aportion of private property 4104 that is less than the entire property4104 (such to airspace above a portion of private property 4104 but notabove the entirety of property 4104). In this manner, a user mayexercise control regarding whether an unmanned aerial vehicle may bepermitted to fly in airspace above the property or a portion of theproperty. The user may authorize certain unmanned aerial vehicles (suchas UAVs associated with one or more delivery companies or businesses) orclasses of unmanned aerial vehicles (such as UAVs having a particulartype of registration or identifier), or with a particular unmannedaerial vehicle having a unique identifier or license number. The usermay indicate a time duration (such as one minute, two minutes, threeminutes, five minutes, ten minutes, or the like) that an unmanned aerialvehicle is permitted to occupy airspace above the property or above theaccess grant area. The user may indicate one or more time periods duringa particular day (such as Wednesday, May 4, 2016), during a class ofdays (such as weekdays, weekends, each Friday, only Mondays andTuesdays, and the like) or generally (such as every day) when unmannedaerial vehicles may occupy airspace above the property. Alternatively,the user may, indicate periods when UAVs are not permitted to occupyairspace above the property (such as from Tuesday, April 26 to Saturday,April 30 because the owner will be away on vacation during that period).A user may change a registration of one or more access grant areas for aproperty or area.

A user interface may be presented, and input from a user may be receivedthat specifies an address, such as a property address, or otherwiseidentifies the property of interest. For example, the owner of property4104 may provide the corresponding address of the property, or mayselect the property from a displayed map to specify the address orindicate the property. In response to the receipt of the address orindication of the property, a representation of the property may beprovided. For example, a map or depiction of the property (such asproperty 4104) corresponding to the received address may be displayed.The representation of the property may show adjoining or nearbyproperties (such as other private properties or public properties).

FIGS. 42A-C are conceptual diagrams of example property (such as realestate property) representations 4200 a, 4200 b, and 4200 c,respectively, and example access grant areas 4210, 4212, and 4216,respectively. Each of representations 4200 a, 4200 b, and 4200 c maycorrespond to property 4104 of FIG. 41 , and may include residence 4106and driveway 4110.

Referring first to representation 4200 c of FIG. 42C, a first accessgrant area 4216 (indicated by shading), which corresponds to airspaceover the entirety of property 4104, may indicate that the user wishes togrant permission to unmanned aerial vehicles (such as one particularUAV, certain UAVs, a class of UAVs, or the like) to fly in airspaceabove the entirety of property 4104. In some examples, first accessgrant area 4136 may represent an approved appurtenant airway.

Representation 4200 a of FIG. 42A includes a second access grant area4210, indicated by shading, that corresponds to airspace over thedriveway 4110, but not to airspace over the remainder of property 4104(i.e. not corresponding to airspace above residence 4106 or above theyard 4108). This may indicate that the user wishes to grant permissionto unmanned aerial vehicles (such as one particular UAV, certain UAVs, aclass of UAVs, or the like) to fly in airspace above the driveway 4110but does not grant permission to unmanned aerial vehicles to fly inairspace over any other portion of the property 4104. In some examples,second access grant area 4210 may represent an approved appurtenantairway.

Representation 4200 b of FIG. 42B includes a third access grant area4212, indicated by shading, that corresponds to airspace over thedriveway 4110 and over a front portion of the yard, but not to airspaceover the remainder of property 4104 (such as not to airspace aboveresidence 4106 or above yard 4108 from the front of the residence 4106rearward). This may indicate that the user wishes to grant permission tounmanned aerial vehicles (such as one particular UAV, certain UAVs, aclass of UAVs, or the like) to fly in airspace above the driveway 4110or above the front portion of the yard (such as forward of the residence4106, defined by boundary line 4214), but does not grant permission tounmanned aerial vehicles to fly in airspace over any other portion ofthe property 4104. In some examples, third access grant area 4212 mayrepresent an approved appurtenant airway.

A user may indicate that no portion of the airspace above their propertyshould be accessible to unmanned aerial vehicles (such as by a checkinga radio button (not shown) in an interface, as described herein). Theaccess grant areas of FIGS. 42A-C represent examples of access grantareas, but many other examples can be used. For example, in some cases aproperty owner, out of respect for neighbors, may specify an accessgrant area that maintains an appropriate distance (such as 5 feet, 10feet, 20 feet, or the like) from one or more property lines. A user mayspecify one or more parameters associated with a package delivery orpickup, such as specifying that a package should be delivered or pickedup at a particular location on the property (such as near a door, on aporch, on a deck, on a portion of the driveway (such as the left side orright side), in a receptacle, on a platform, and the like). The propertydepictions in FIGS. 42A-C may be displayed in a map area of a userinterface, as described herein and a user may indicate the one or moreareas to grant access by highlighting the particular area. In someexamples, perspective views depicting the property in three dimensionsmay also be displayed, and may permit the user to specify the accessgrant area in three dimensions (surface dimensions, plus altitude).

A system may receive and store access grant areas (or alternativelyareas where access is prohibited), each of which may be associated witha property address or with an identification of a property or an ownerof a property. In this manner, access grant areas may be registered,which may permit landowners, property owners, or authorizedrepresentatives to exercise control over whether all or a portion of theairspace above their property is to be accessible to unmanned aerialvehicles. A user's privacy concerns may be aided by restricting unmannedaerial vehicle access above their property to only certain portions ofthe property, or to forbid unmanned aerial vehicle access to any portionof their property. As described herein, in addition to receivingindication of access grant areas, the system may receive one or moreconditions or rules relating to the access grant area, such as a timeduration associated with UAV access, a time period during which UAVaccess is permitted or forbidden, an indication of those UAVs that arepermitted to access (or alternatively of those that are forbidden toaccess), and one or more areas where one or more of landing, liftoff,delivery, or pickup is permitted on the property, to list just a fewexamples.

An access grant area may be communicated to one or more entities formanagement of UAV access to the area. For example, one or more accessgrant areas may be communicated to a communications station, such as anyof the communications stations described herein, and the communicationsstation may manage UAV access to the area. An access grant area thatcorresponds to a residence may be communicated to a communicationsstation, and the communications station may store the access grant areaassociated with the residence and may manage UAV traffic in the vicinityof the residence and may manage UAV access to airspace associated withthe residence.

A UAV may request permission from a communications station to enterairspace above a private property, above a public property, or above arestricted area. Upon receiving the request from the UAV, thecommunications station may determine whether such access is permitted,for example based on one or more access grant areas for the property orarea and one or more conditions associated therewith, and may grantpermission to the UAV if the requested access is permitted or denypermission to the UAV if the requested access is not permitted. Forexample, the communications station may refer to access grant areainformation for the private property, public property, or restrictedarea, which may be associated with a property address or indication ofthe property or area, and may determine whether such access ispermitted. If such access is permitted, the communications station maytransmit a message for receipt by the UAV that grants permission for theUAV to enter airspace above the private property, public property orrestricted area in accordance with the access grant area associated withthe property or area, and in accordance with one or more rules orconditions of such access. If such access is not permitted, thecommunications station may transmit a message for receipt by the UAVthat denies permission for the UAV to enter airspace above the privateproperty, public property, or restricted area.

In granting permission to the UAV to access the property or area, thecommunications station may include with the message (or in a separatemessage) location information associated with the access grant area,such as boundary information for the area permitted to be accessed bythe UAV, or one or more landing areas, liftoff areas, delivery areas, orpickup areas. Such location information may include one or more GPScoordinates, latitude and longitude information, latitude, longitude,and elevation information, an image of a feature of the area, or otherappropriate location information. The property owner or representativemay place one or more beacons on the property or area that may define orindicate an access grant area or portion of an access grant area. Theone or more beacons may be active or passive, in variousimplementations, and the UAV may be equipped to recognize or detect theone or more beacons. In some examples, a beacon may emit or transmit asignal (such as an identifier, message, and/or waveform) that the UAVmay detect.

In some examples, a command center may monitor in-flight tracking ofpackage delivery or transport, for example by communicating with one ormore communications stations that may have communicated with an unmannedaerial vehicle transporting a package, as described herein. Thecommunications station may have collected location information from theUAV (or may have determined location information for the UAV), and mayhave associated the information with a time stamp, for example. Suchin-flight tracking may provide for better delivery or arrival timeestimates, and may assist in recovering lost or missing packages orUAVs.

A communications device may be included at or near the private property,public property, or restricted area, and the communications device maycommunicate with a UAV regarding UAV access to airspace above theprivate property, public property, or restricted area. For example, thecommunications device may be within the residence of a private propertyowner, attached to an exterior of the residence or other structure onthe property, located at or near a receptacle or area designated for UAVdeliveries or pick-ups, or located elsewhere on or near the property. AUAV may transmit a message for receipt by the communications deviceassociated with the private property, public property, or restrictedarea, where the message includes a request to access airspace above theprivate property, public property, or restricted area. Thecommunications device may receive the message, and may determine whethersuch access is permitted, for example based on one or more access grantareas for the property or area, and may grant permission to the UAV ifthe requested access is permitted or deny permission to the UAV if therequested access is not permitted (for example, by transmitting amessage for receipt by the UAV with an indication of the access grant ordenial). The communications station may refer to access grant areainformation for the private property, public property, or restrictedarea, which may be associated with a property address or indication ofthe property, and may determine whether such access is permitted. Ifsuch access is permitted, the communications station may transmit amessage for receipt by the UAV that grants permission for the UAV toenter airspace above the private property, public property, orrestricted area in accordance with the access grant area associated withthe property or area, and in accordance with one or more rules orconditions of such access. If such access is not permitted, thecommunications station may transmit a message for receipt by the UAVthat denies permission for the UAV to enter airspace above the privateproperty, public property, or restricted area.

A UAV may wish to enter airspace associated with a private property,public property, or restricted area to make a delivery or to pick up apackage, for example. As the UAV approaches the target address orproperty, the UAV may request permission to enter airspace associatedwith the target address to make the delivery or to pick up the package,as by transmitting a message for receipt by a communications station orcommunications device.

A UAV that has been granted permission and has entered airspace above aprivate property or restricted area may, upon exiting the airspace abovethe private property or restricted area, transmit a message for receiptby the communications station that indicates that the UAV has exited theairspace. The UAV may include in the transmitted message an indicationof a task, such as an indication that a package was delivered or anindication that a package was picked up. The communications station orcommunications device may receive the transmitted message, and may storean indication of the message in a memory location.

A grant of permission to access the airspace above the private property,public property, or restricted area may be contingent upon receipt, bythe communications station or communications device, of a password orother security construct from the UAV. In some examples, thecommunications station or communications device may request a passwordor security construct from the UAV, and in other examples thecommunications station or communications device may not request apassword or security construct from the UAV. In cases where a passwordor security construct is required, the communications station orcommunications device may deny access to a UAV that is unable to satisfythe password or security construct requirement.

A control center, as described herein, may include a device or systemthat may register access grant areas for private property, publicproperty, or restricted areas. In some examples, the device or system,as a step in the registration, may communicate information regarding theaccess grant areas to an appropriate public entity (such as a local ormunicipal public entity, a state-level public entity, or a nationalpublic entity) so that the public entity may review and approve or denythe request, and the device or system may receive the result of thereview from the public entity.

The device or system may communicate appropriate information to anappropriate communications station or communications device, so that thecommunications station or communications device can manage UAV access toairspace of the private property, public property, or restricted area,for example based on the one or more access grant areas pertaining tothe property. The device or system, or a portion of the device orsystem, may be included at another appropriate location. The device orsystem that registers the access grant areas can communicate informationregarding an access grant area to a business (such as a deliverycompany, a retailer, a supplier, or the like), to a municipal entity, toa police department, fire department, or first responder.

FIG. 43 is a conceptual diagram of an example user interface 4300through which a user may provide information to register unmanned aerialvehicle access rights (in some examples including delivery, pickup,landing, and/or liftoff rights) to property or to airspace associatedwith a property (such as airspace above real estate property). Aregistration system may provide the user interface 4300 for use byproperty owners or representatives, for example, who wish to registeraccess rights to their property so that unmanned aerial vehicles will bepermitted to fly over their property according to the terms of theregistered access grant. The user interface, or a portion of the userinterface, may be presented, for example, on a display screen, such as adisplay screen of a computer (such as a desktop or laptop), tabletcomputing device, smartphone, wearable computing device (such as a smartwatch, smart bracelet, or other wearable device), or other appropriatedisplay screen.

The user interface may include an address field 4302, wherein theregistration system may receive a property address (such as 777 ParkLane, Tiburon, Calif.), and a visual representation 4304, wherein adepiction (such as a map, photo, image, or the like) of the property maybe displayed. The system may receive an address input in the addressfield 4302 and may display in response a map or visual representation4304 of property corresponding to the received address. The user mayenter a specific address in the address field 4302 and the system maydisplay a map or representation of the property. The user may specify anincomplete address (such as Park Lane, Tiburon, Calif.) in the addressfield 4302, and the system may present a map (or a list, for example viaa drop-down or other type of list) of various properties associated withthe incomplete address (such as various properties on Park Lane), andthe user may select the appropriate property from among those displayed.

The user interface may include a name field 4306, wherein theregistration system may receive a name of the property owner. The userinterface may include an authorization field 4308, wherein theregistration system may receive an authorization code. The system mayverify that one or more of the name and the authorization codecorresponds to the registered owner of the property and corresponds to avalid authorization code, respectively, for example.

The user interface may include one or more fields 4310 to denote one ormore days for which UAV access should be permitted. The system mayreceive a start date (such as May 8, 2016) in a start date field 4312 aand an end date (such as May 8, 2016, or May 10, 2016, or the like) inan end date field 4312 b. In some examples the system may present acalendar so that the user can select the date or dates. The userinterface may include one or more fields 4314 to denote a time or timesduring which UAV access should be permitted. The system may receive astart time (such as 8:00 AM) in a start time field 4316 a and an endtime (such as 10:00 PM) in an end time field 4316 b. In some examplesthe system may present a clock, time-face, or list on which the user canselect the time or times.

The user interface may include a duration field 4318, and the system mayreceive a time duration that specifies a permitted duration of time(such as 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, or anotherappropriate length of time) that a UAV may access to the property. Theuser interface may include an operation field 4320, and the system mayreceive an operation type or category (such as package delivery, packagepickup, video or photo capture access, general flight access, landingaccess, liftoff access, combinations of the foregoing, and others)permitted for UAVs.

The user interface may include a delivery or pickup field 4322, and thesystem may receive an indication of a location on the property where aUAV should deliver or pick-up a package. This location may also oralternatively specify a location where a UAV is permitted to land or toliftoff from (for instance, initiate flight). The description maydescribe the area textually (such as “left side of driveway”, “onporch”, “behind house”, “on deck”, “on front steps”, or the like), orusing one or more location identifiers, such as one or more GPScoordinates, latitude and longitude information, latitude, longitude,and elevation information, or other appropriate location information.The system may receive a photograph (for instance, uploaded by the user)that depicts the delivery area, pickup area, landing area, takeoff area,or the like. The system may display an indicator 4324 on the map toindicate the corresponding area. Alternatively, a user may indicate adelivery area, pickup area, landing area, or liftoff area (orcombinations of the foregoing) on the map, as by selecting an area ofthe map (as an alternative to entering a location in field 4322, forexample), and the system may receive the selection and display anindicator 4324 at the location. In some examples, separate locations forone or more of delivery, pick-up, landing, and liftoff may be specified.The user interface may include a field 4326 where one or more ofaltitude information, such as altitudes or ranges where UAVs are to bepermitted to fly over the property (such as above 100 feet AGL, above200 feet AGL, above 300 feet AGL, or above some other altitude) may bereceived.

The systems and devices may provide a user interface (not shown) thatpermits the user to enter payment information associated with theregistration request. For example, the system or device may provide auser interface that accepts a credit card or debit card payment, orpayment via a third-party payment processor. Such payments may include afee for registering or renewing one or more access grant areas, or oneor more of a landing area, liftoff area, delivery area, or pickup area.

Input may be received that indicates one or more access grant areasassociated with the property, as well as the rules or conditions foraccess, including the rules or conditions discussed herein. For example,the user may be able to specify all or a portion of the property thatthe user wishes to grant permission for access to an unmanned aerialvehicle. In various examples, the user may indicate the access grantarea(s) in a variety of ways, such as by shading or selecting theportion of the property desired for the access grant area, or bydescribing the area textually, or by other appropriate methods. A usermay make such an indication by highlighting a portion of the displayedmap, and the system may receive the indication. Alternatively, the usermay indicate areas of the property where access is not to be permitted.Methods of selection or indication may be active, interactive, or notactive.

FIG. 44 is an example unmanned aerial vehicle flight environment. Theenvironment 4400 may include a designated airspace 4402, which maycorrespond to a general area where UAVs are generally permitted to fly,or are generally permitted to fly without additional permission. Thedesignated airspace may correspond to airspace above a right-of way,above a highway, to one or more air corridors, or to any appropriatearea where UAV flight is generally permitted. In the depicted example(depicted in two dimensions for simplicity), the designated airspace maybe bounded on the left by boundary A and on the right by boundary B. Thedesignated airspace may be additionally is bounded from above, forexample at the 400 feet AGL level (or another appropriate level).

The environment may include a residence 4404, located on privateproperty as depicted by property boundary 4406. An owner of privateproperty 406 may register one or more access grant areas associated withproperty 4406, as discussed herein, which may indicate areas aboveproperty 4406 where UAVs are permitted to fly, and may indicate variousconditions associated with such areas, including one or more of theconditions discussed herein.

A first access grant area 4408 indicates that UAV flights are permittedover the entirety of property 4406, but only at elevations above theelevation indicated by boundary C, which may correspond to 250 feet AGLin this example. That is, UAVs may fly above property 4406 as defined byfirst access grant area 4408, but only within the altitude range of 250feet AGL to 400 feet AGL, in this example.

A second access grant area 4410 indicates that UAV flights are permittedover only a portion of property 4406 and that UAV flights are notpermitted over a portion of the property. Also, the second access grantarea specifies an altitude limit D, which may correspond to about 180feet AGL in this example. That is, UAVs may fly above property 4406 asdefined by second access grant area 4410, but only at altitudes lessthan 180 feet AGL, and only over the left portion of the property, inthis example.

A user may specify access grant area 4410, access grant area 4412, oranother access grant area (not shown) during different days, differenttimes, different conditions, or the like.

The environment may also include an office building 4412, located onprivate property as depicted by property boundary 4413. An owner of (orauthority for) private property 4413 may, for example, register one ormore access grant areas associated with property 4413, as discussedherein, which may indicate areas above property 4413 where UAVs arepermitted to fly, and may indicate various conditions associated withsuch areas, including one or more of the conditions discussed herein. Athird access grant area 4414 indicates that UAV flights are permittedover the entirety of property 4413, at all altitudes up to 400 feet AGL,in this example.

The environment depicts two communications stations 4416 and 4420, aswell as a communications device 4421. Communications station 4416 maymounted to a support member, such as office building 4412.Communications station 4420 may be mounted to a support member, which inthe depicted example may be a utility pole 4418. Communications device4421 may be mounted to the roof of residence 4404 in this example.

A control center 4424 may communicate with the communications stations4416 and 4420, and with communications device 4412, wirelessly over oneor more networks, such as a cloud network 4422. The control center 4424may include a device or system that registers access grant areas forproperty owners or that registers delivery areas, pickup areas, landingareas, liftoff areas, or combinations of the foregoing, for propertyowners. The control center may correspond to a control center asdescribed herein, and in some examples may correspond to a differentcontrol center. In examples where the device or system that registersaccess grant areas and/or landing areas, liftoff areas, delivery areasand pickup areas communicates with a public entity, such as publicentity 4426, during the registration process, such communication mayalso occur over the one or more networks 4422.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart of an example method for registering an accessgrant area for a property to permit unmanned aerial vehicle flightwithin the access grant area. The method 4500 may include the steps ofreceiving a first input that identifies a real estate property,providing a visual representation of the real estate property, receivinga second input that identifies airspace associated with the real estateproperty, and registering an access grant for airspace associated withthe real estate property.

The method 4500 may be performed by a device or system, such as a deviceor system included at a control center (as described herein) or anotherappropriate location, and may be used to permit private property ownersand public property owners to register one or more access grant areas topermit UAV flights over their property according to the access grantarea, and optionally according to rules or conditions associated withthe access grant area.

At a first step 4502, an input that identifies a real estate property isreceived. The input may include a physical address for the real estateproperty. The input may include a photograph or image of the property.The input may include a selection of a property from a list ofproperties. The input may include a selection of a property displayed ona map (such as where the display displays one, two, three, or moreproperties).

At a second step 4504, a visual representation of the real estateproperty is provided. The visual representation may be provided on adisplay screen of an appropriate computing device. The visualrepresentation may be a map. The visual representation may display oneor more other properties (or portions thereof) in addition to the realestate property identified by the input of step 4502.

At a third step 4506, a second input that identifies airspace associatedwith the real estate property is received. The second input may includea textual description of the airspace. The second input may include aselection on the visual representation provided at step 4504 (such as aselection of all or a portion of the visual representation correspondingto the real estate property). The second input may include one or morelocation identifiers, such as one or more GPS coordinates, one or moreof latitude and longitude indications, or one or more latitude,longitude, and elevation indications. The second input may specify oneor more altitudes. In other cases, the second input may not specify oneor more altitudes. The second input may be an indication that no UAVflights should be permitted in airspace associated with the real estateproperty.

One or more of the input of step 4502 or the second input of step 4506may include a name (such as the name of the property owner). One or moreof the input of step 4502 or the second input of step 4506 may includean authorization code. The system or device may verify that the requestfor registering an access grant area is being made by a user who isauthorized to make such a request (for instance, by verifying ownershipof the property of by verifying that a received authorization code isvalid).

The second input may include one or more rules or conditions. Forexample, the second input may include an indication of a day or daysduring which UAV flights may be permitted to access the airspaceassociated with the real estate property. The second input may include atime period during which UAV flights may be permitted to access theairspace associated with the real estate property. The second input mayinclude a time duration during which UAV flights within the airspaceassociated with the real estate property must be completed (such as thatthe UAV should exit the airspace by expiration of the time duration fromthe time that the UAV entered the airspace). The second input mayinclude an indication of an operation type or category (for instance,package delivery, package pickup, video or photo capture access, generalflight access, landing access, liftoff access, combinations of theforegoing, and the like) permitted for UAVs that enter the airspaceassociated with the real estate property. The second input may includean indication of one or more of a landing area where a UAV may land, aliftoff area where a UAV may initiate flight, a delivery area where aUAV may deliver a package, and a pickup area where a UAV may pick-up apackage.

At a fourth step 4508, an access grant area for the airspace associatedwith the real estate property is registered. The device or system maycommunicate with a public entity, such as a local or municipal entity, astate entity, or a national entity, and may communicate an addressassociated with the real estate property and information regarding therequested access grant area to airspace associated with the real estateproperty to the public entity. The device or system may receive from thepublic entity a grant or an approval of the access grant area. Thedevice or system may register the access grant area independent of apublic entity. Registration of the access grant area may includecommunicating the registration (such as information associated with theaccess grant area) to one or more communications stations, so that theone or more communications station may manage aspects of the accessgrant areas (such as manage permission-granting to UAVs to the one ormore access grant area; monitoring UAV traffic in and around the accessgrant areas, and the like).

Automated Module Removal & Installation

The installation of the modular devices described herein on an existingstreetlight or other structure that has an existing electrical socketmay be automated. Ordinarily, the installation of a legacy socket device(such as a photocell) would require the use of a cherry picker or smallcrane to reach the top of streetlights. The streetlight is typically 33feet or so above ground level. This may present a challenge ofsignificant time and effort to get to the top of the streetlight. It mayalso present a recurring fall and/or shock risk to the workpersoninstalling and/or removing the device. The risk of fall and the risk ofelectrical shocks are two of the top four causes of death in the UnitedStates construction industry, according to the United StatesOccupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA). The installation ofreplacement photocells on streetlights or other maintenance work mayordinarily be a two person operation, including a driver/operator and aworkperson. As the detachment, lowering and raising of the entirestreetlight is required in traditional streetlight replacement, thecrews may be much larger. However, the existence of a simple twist-inattachment for the base stations, application modules, and camera unitsdescribed herein, or any combination thereof, may a method for rapiddeployment of these modular devices. This method of installation may beaccomplished using a simple, automated process, using the systemdepicted in FIG. 46 , which may be supervised by a single operator.

FIG. 46 shows a system for the automated installation and removal ofapplication modules. The system 4600 may include a truck or van 4602 towhich additional components are attached. The truck or van may include amovable base 4604, a telescoping pole 4606, a lateral arm 4608, one ormore gripping devices 4610, a new module rack 4612, a recycle bin 4614,a new device 4616, and a console and display 4618. The telescoping polemay be motorized. The telescoping pole may be attached to a moveablebase on the rear of a light truck or van. The telescoping pole may beraised and lowered in accordance with the operator's command center inthe cab. The top of the telescoping pole may include a controllablemotor that rotates the lateral arm. The lateral arm may include aninverted motor on each arm that may be powered to spin a downward facinggripping device clockwise and counterclockwise. Each gripping device mayinclude a distance sensor and a camera for viewing and locating itstargets. The system may include a primary gripping device and asecondary gripping device.

A primary gripping device, in conjunction with the sensor and camera,may be configured to: 1) find the location of any legacy device ormodular device on the streetlight, 2) grip the device, 3) apply adownward force, 4) twist the device free, and 5) hold the device tightlywhile the pole is being lowered. A secondary gripping device may beconfigured to: 1) locate and grip a new device from a rack or bin on thetruck or van, 2) hold the new device tightly while the telescoping poleextends to the streetlight elevation, 3) locate an empty twist socket onthe top of the streetlight, 4) insert the new device, 5) exert adownward pressure on the new device, 6) twist the new device into place,and 7) release the new device.

The entire process may be executed as follows: 1) the truck or vanoperator pulls under a streetlight; 2) the operator starts the vehicle'sflashers and alert signs to advise motorists and pedestrians; 3) theoperator activates the automatic device removal and installation system;4) the telescoping pole unlocks and elevates slightly to reach thecorrect level of an adjacent rack of new devices; 5) The moveable baseadvances so that the primary gripping device is over a new module; 6)the primary gripping device finds and grips a new module; 7) the poleautomatically rises upwards towards the streetlight; 8) the movable baseof the elevating pole moves laterally to place the telescoping poleadjacent to the streetlight; 9) the secondary gripping system is rotatedby the pole motor to hover over the existing legacy device; 10) thetelescoping pole lowers slightly; 11) the secondary gripping devicegrips the legacy device, applies slight pressure, and twists the legacydevice; 12) the telescoping pole rises up slightly; 13) the pole motorrotates the bar so that the primary gripping device can hover over thenow empty socket; 14) the telescoping pole lowers slightly; 15) theprimary gripping device applies downward pressure and then a twistingmotion to secure the new device in the streetlight socket; 16) the poletelescopes slightly upwards; 17) the base of the telescoping poleretracts away from the streetlight; 18) Once clear of the streetlight,the telescoping pole retracts; 19) upon reaching the truck bed, thesecondary gripping device is rotated over a recycling bin; 20) thesecondary gripping device releases the legacy device into a storagecontainer; 21) the entire apparatus retracts to a traveling position,locks itself down, and shuts off.

In certain circumstances, the truck, movable base and telescoping polemay be replaced by a traditional boom truck or cherry picker. In thatsituation the lateral arm 4608, one or more gripping devices 4610 andthe associated console and display 4618 can be fabricated as a separate,portable unit(s) that simply bolts onto a boom truck or cherry picker.This may be far more convenient whether the vehicle is owned or rentedat a remote location. Other than the substitution of a traditionallifting platform to lift and position the portable unit, all other stepsof operation are the same.

The installation process may be performed in one continuous operation.The raising and lowering of the telescoping pole ounces may accomplishthe selection and raising of a new device, the removal of the olddevice, and the installation of the new device in one cycle. The entiretime for installation of a new module may be less than two minutes. As aresult, a single operator may safely install many of these smart citymodules (such as tens, hundreds, or even thousands) in a single week.The automated installation may mitigate the risk of fall or shockhazard, or of dropping a module. The operator may view the entireoperation on the command console which may include a flat screendisplay. The system may test the functionality of the new module beforethe operator starts the vehicle and moves to a new location.

Computing Devices, Processors, and Components

Computing devices may include pluralities of the components describedherein, including a plurality of processors, a plurality of memories, aplurality of types of memories, a plurality of storage devices, and/or aplurality of buses. A plurality of computing devices may be connected toeach other and can coordinate at least a portion of their computingresources to perform one or more operations.

Processors may process instructions for execution within computingdevices, including instructions stored in memory and/or on storagedevices. Such processing of instructions may cause various operations tobe performed, such as the operations, tasks, or methods discussedherein. Processors may be implemented as a chipset of chips that includeseparate and/or multiple analog and digital processors. Processors maybe implemented using any of a number of architectures, such as a CISC(Complex Instruction Set Computers) processor architecture, a RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor architecture, and/or a MISC(Minimal Instruction Set Computer) processor architecture. Processorsmay provide, for example, coordination of other components computingdevices, such as control of user interfaces, applications that are runby the devices, and wireless communication by the devices.

Memory may store information within computing devices, includinginstructions to be executed by one or more processors. Memory mayinclude a volatile memory unit or units, such as synchronous RAM (forinstance, double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, and/or DDR4 SDRAM), asynchronous RAM (forinstance, fast page mode dynamic RAM (FPM DRAM) or extended data outDRAM (EDO DRAM)), graphics RAM (for instance, graphics DDR4, GDDR4, orGDDR5). Memory may include a non-volatile memory unit or units (such asflash memory). Memory may also include another form of computer-readablemedium, such as magnetic and/or optical disks. Storage devices may becapable of providing mass storage for computing devices and may includea computer-readable medium, such as a floppy disk device, a hard diskdevice, an optical disk device, a Microdrive, or a tape device, a flashmemory or other similar solid state memory device, or an array ofdevices, including devices in a storage area network or otherconfigurations. Computer program products may be tangibly embodied in aninformation carrier, such as memory, storage devices, cache memorywithin a processor, and/or other appropriate computer-readable medium.Computer program products may also include instructions that, whenexecuted by one or more computing devices, perform one or more methodsor techniques, such as those described herein.

Computing devices may communicate wirelessly through one or morecommunication interfaces, which may include digital signal processingcircuitry when appropriate. Communication interfaces may provide forcommunications under various modes or protocols, such as GSM voicecalls, messaging protocols (such as SMS, EMS, or MMS messaging), CDMA,TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, GPRS, 4G protocols (such as 4G LTE), and/orother appropriate protocols. Such communication may occur, for example,through one or more radio-frequency transceivers. In addition,short-range communication may occur, such as using a Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,or other such transceivers. In addition, a GPS (Global PositioningSystem) receiver module may provide additional navigation- andlocation-related wireless data to computing devices, which may be usedas appropriate by applications running on computing devices.

Computing devices may also include one or more sensors through whichvarious states of and around the computing devices can be detected. Forexample, computing devices may include one or more accelerometers thatmay be used to detect motion of the computing devices and detailsregarding the detected motion (such as speed, direction, and/orrotation); one or more gyroscopes that can be used to detect orientationof the computing devices in 3D space; light sensors that may be used todetect levels of ambient light at or around the computing devices; touchand presence sensors that may be used to detect contact and/ornear-contact with one or more portions of the computing devices;environmental sensors (such as barometers, photometers, and/orthermometers) that can detect information about the surroundingenvironment (such as ambient air temperature, air pressure, and/orhumidity); other motion sensors that may be used to measure accelerationand rotational forces (such as gravity sensors or rotational vectorsensors); position sensors that may be used to detect the physicalposition of the computing devices (such as orientation sensors ormagnetometers), and/or other appropriate sensors.

The systems, devices, and techniques described herein may be realized indigital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry, specially designedASICs (application specific integrated circuits), computer hardware,firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof. These systems, devices,and techniques may include implementation in one or more computerprograms that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmablesystem including at least one programmable processor, which may bespecial or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructionsfrom, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, atleast one input device, and at least one output device. These computerprograms (also known as programs, software, software applications, orcode) may include machine instructions for a programmable processor, andmay be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object-orientedprogramming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As usedherein, the terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readablemedium” refer to any computer program product, apparatus, and/or device(such as magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, or Programmable LogicDevices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to aprogrammable processor.

The description herein provides examples of some implementations. Otherimplementations that are not explicitly described above are alsopossible, such as implementations based on modifications and/orvariations of the features described herein. For example, the techniquesdescribed herein may be implemented in different orders, with theinclusion of one or more additional steps, and/or with the exclusion ofone or more of the identified steps. Additionally, the steps andtechniques described herein as being performed by some computing devicesand/or systems may alternatively, or additionally, be performed by othercomputing devices and/or systems that are described herein or othercomputing devices and/or systems that are not explicitly described.Similarly, the systems, devices, and apparatuses may include one or moreadditional features, may exclude one or more of the identified features,and/or may include the identified features combined in a different waythan presented herein. Features that are described as singular may beimplemented as a plurality of such features. Likewise, features that aredescribed as a plurality may be implemented as singular instances ofsuch features. The drawings are intended to be illustrative and may notprecisely depict some implementations. Variations in sizing, placement,shapes, angles, and/or the positioning of features relative to eachother are possible.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatsuch embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerousvariations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilledin the art without departing from the invention. It should be understoodthat various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention describedherein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended thatthe following claims define the scope of the invention and that methodsand structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents becovered thereby.

What is claimed is:
 1. A modular sensing system for sensing an activityor an event in a region, the system comprising: a base stationcomprising: (i) an electrical plug or receptable to releasably couplethe base station to an application module, (ii) another electrical plugor receptable to releasably couple the base station to a support memberand (iii) a location module to provide a location identifier; and anapplication module comprising: (i) a first plurality of sensors forcapturing sensory data according to a functionality for a sensingapplication, (ii) one or more processors programmed to aggregate thesensory data captured by the plurality of sensors and provide therespective functionality based at least in part on the sensory data, and(iii) a counterpart electrical plug or receptable to releasably matewith the electrical plug or receptacle of the base station.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the location module is a global positioningsystem (GPS).
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the location identifiercorresponds to a fixed point on the support member.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the location identifier is stored in a data store thatis in communication with the base station.
 5. The system of claim 1,wherein the location identifier includes a latitude identifier, alongitude identifier or an elevation identifier.
 6. The system of claim1, wherein the base station generates a message indicating that the basestation is transported to a different location, and wherein the messageincludes the location identifier.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein thebase station further comprises a detection component and the detectioncomponent is configured to detect a motion in a vicinity of the basestation, sound in a vicinity of the base station, a communicationssignal, or a presence of a nearby vehicle, nearby human, or nearbycommunications device.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the basestation is configured to perform a communication functionality and acontrol functionality to control an operation of the support member. 9.The system of claim 8, wherein the application module is configured tobe upgradeable, interchanged, or removed without disrupting thecommunication functionality and the control functionality of the basestation.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the application module iscapable to be coupled to another application module, and wherein theanother application comprises a second plurality of sensors providing afunctionality for a different sensing application.
 11. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the application modules is configured to sense theevent in the region in the vicinity of the application module.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the functionality is performed by applyingmachine learning techniques for performing one of the steps selectedfrom the group consisting of: aggregating and evaluating the sensorydata about the event sensed, and generating a response according to thesensing application.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured to execute instructions to perform the machinelearning techniques.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the supportmember comprises a streetlight.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein thesupport member comprises a vehicle.
 16. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first plurality of sensors comprise at least a camera and a motionsensor.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein the first plurality ofsensors comprise at least a weather sensor.
 18. The system of claim 1,wherein the base station comprises a measurement component.
 19. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the measurement component is configured tomeasure energy, temperature, or ambient light.